Treasure Hunt
by emmadactryl
Summary: This is a really hard summary to write. The whole plot is basically laid out and explained in chapter one so I won't bother explaining much here. The title says it all... COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alpha Force, Chris Ryan does, and as my plot was inspired by a movie (National Treasure), I can't really claim that either.**

**My fifth Alpha Force fan fic! Just wanted to say a humungous thank you for every single person how has ever reviewed or even glanced at my fics. Those who reviewed, you have helped me in my writing a lot and I am very grateful to you all. :) **

**Emmalea xx**

'Give me a B! Give me an O! Give me an R! Give me an E! Give me a D! What does it spell?!' Li waited for an answer. 'What does it spell?!' she shouted more forcefully.

Paulo sighed and muttered, 'Bored'.

'What was that? I can't hear you?'

'Bored! It spells bored!' Paulo yelled.

Li beamed at him. 'Well done. Now, for $2 million dollars, can anyone, anyone at all, tell me the reason _why_ I am bored?'

'Because it's raining and there is nothing left to do,' Alex answered in a monotone.

'CORRECT! WE HAVE A WINNER!' Li shouted, then cart wheeled out of the lounge room.

Alex turned to Paulo. 'What are we going to do with her? Imagine if it keeps raining for the next two weeks. We'll go insane!' he cried.

Paulo shuddered and was about to answer when Amber and Hex, the final two members of Alpha Force, raced into the room. Amber's cheeks were flushed and her dark hair was plastered to her head. Hex looked just as dishevelled with raindrops dripping off the end of his nose.

Li bounced back into the room, a mischievous look on her face.

'And where have you two been?' she asked, trying to keep the grin off her face. Alex sighed.

'Get your mind out of the gutter, Li,' he said. Amber blushed while Hex scowled at Li.

'As a matter of fact, we were helping the builders cover over the shed. The roof started leaking and they need some help with the tarpaulin,' Hex remarked, still glaring.

Li started to say something but Amber cut her off.

'Look at this. It was on the front door mat,' she gabbled waving a white envelope in the air. 'I think it's from Uncle John.'

Alpha Force were spending their holidays at Amber's house in Boston. Her uncle, John Middleton, had flown out that morning, saying that he had some business matters to attend to.

'Open it!' Li cried. 'I can't stand the suspense!'

Amber ripped open the envelope and pulled out an A4 piece of paper. She quickly scanned the letter.

'What the hell?' she said.

'Let me see.' Hex plucked the paper out of Amber's fingers. '"Hi kids! Hope you're having fun. Just in case you're actually bored out of your brains or just want something a bit more interesting to do, I took the liberty of arranging a little game for you. Under the third pot plant in the hall there is a DVD in a black case. Have a look. More will be explained on that DVD".'

As Hex finished, Li clapped her hands together and darted towards the hall. Just seconds later she was thrusting the disc in Hex's face.

'Come one, come on. You're whatchamahoogi can play this right?' she said bouncing on the balls of her feet. Hex gave her a look of disbelief.

'Of course!' He sounded offended. 'Not only can it play DVDs and CDs, but-'

'Yes, yes, it's fabulous. Can we just watch it without all the boring explanations?' Amber cut in impatiently.

Looking very put out, Hex put the DVD in the disc drive and called up the necessary program. After a few seconds and some whirring noises, John Middleton's smiling face looked out from the palmtop screen.

'The game is very simple really. It is like a treasure hunt. Clues, both written and verbal, have been hidden at certain places. You have to figure out what the clue means before you can continue and find the next one. Have fun!' John disappeared and the screen went black.

'That was weird,' Alex stated. 'How was that "explained more"?'

'Hang on. It's not finished yet,' Hex said as the screen changed colour.

_I come from a land down-under,  
Where beer does flow and men chunder,  
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder,  
You better run, you better take cover._

'What on earth?' Li shattered the confused silence.

'Men at Work,' Alex said. 'Down Under or something like that.'

Paulo looked thoughtful. 'Perhaps it is a clue,' he said quietly.

Hex snapped his fingers. 'Exactly! What is the song about?' He continued without waiting for an answer. 'A land "down under". And what is the land down under? Australia.'

In the silence that followed, Hex pulled the envelope apart and then the DVD case.

'Nothing. Nothing... Maybe...' He stopped suddenly and ran out of the lounge.

'He is strange,' Li muttered as Hex came running back to them.

'I got them! In the pot plant. Five plane tickets to Sydney, Australia.'

**Well. What do you all think? I'm not sure how long this fic will be but I have a feeling that it could be longer than Traffik. I'm not sure exactly on what will happen but I have a few ideas. Most likely there will be no "bad guys" but as I said/typed, I haven't really got a strong chapter line yet. Following chapters should be longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

Alpha Force stood in Sydney airport, bags at their feet and blank looks on their faces.

'Um... Small question. What the hell do we do now?' Amber said bluntly.

'That's a really good question, Amber. Hex? Any ideas?' Li raised her eyebrow and glanced at the Londoner.

Hex looked a bit uncomfortable. 'All we have to do is find the next clue.'

'It could be anywhere,' Paulo wailed. His friends looked at him in surprise. 'I am allowed to whinge. We have been standing here for 15 minutes and I am fed up.' With that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and marched towards a café. Li blinked and followed him.

Alex decided to voice his opinion. 'Let's have a listen to that song again.' Hex set up his palmtop and they listened to it, getting several strange looks from other passengers. Amber bobbed her head in time to the beat until Hex slapped her arm.

'Stop it,' he hissed. Amber grinned and started to sway in time. Alex and Hex grimaced and pushed her into a seat.

'Sit still and be inconspicuous,' Alex said dryly.

'Party poopers,' Amber muttered.

The song came to its end and the three teenagers looked at each other blankly.

'Well that was helpful,' Amber remarked standing up. 'Paulo and Li have the right idea. I'm gonna go get some food. You guys want anything?' When Alex and Hex shook their heads, Amber made her way over to the café that Li and Paulo had gone to. Hex followed her with his eyes and frowned. Alex noticed.

'What?'

'That café. What's it next to?' Hex asked slowly.

Alex looked. 'Ah... A bar?'

'Exactly. And what would that bar be called?' Hex was standing now, gathering his and Amber's bags up.

'Thunderhouse. Why is that important?'

'Well the first verse we heard of that song was about beer and guys chundering. Bars tend to serve beer and more often than not where you have beer and drunk people, you got vomit. The second last line said something about "can't you hear the thunder" which fits with the name "Thunderhouse".'

'You kids aren't allowed in here. Underage.' The bouncer guy was tough looking but he spoke nice enough.

'We were wondering if you had anything for us. John Middleton might have left something.' The bouncer nodded and disappeared inside the bar, reappearing moments later with a young woman.

'Hello. You two must be friends of John's niece. Is she here?' the woman asked.

'Over getting food,' Hex said pointing to the café.

'I suppose I can give you the next clue then.' She rummaged in her apron. 'Oh how rude of me. I'm Phoebe Fields.' She shook Hex and Alex's hands.

'I'm Alex and this is Hex.' She smiled and continued to delve into her apron pockets.

'Where did I put it? Just this morning I printed it off and now I've- Here it is.' Phoebe pulled a crumpled, stained piece of paper out the pocket on her jeans. 'Sorry about that. Well I best go and serve my customers. Amazing how many people want a drink after they've been on a plane!' She skipped back into the bar. Hex and Alex thanked the bouncer for his help and wandered over to the café.

'Where did you go?' Amber asked.

'We got the next clue,' Alex said nonchalantly.

'You did?!' Li and Amber squealed. 'What did it say?!'

'With you three in mind, we haven't opened it yet. Here it is.' Alex pulled the paper from his jacket and placed it on the table, flattening out the creases as best he could. Amber craned her neck to read the words printed on the paper.

'"Jump in the deep end to find your next clue. Hope you haven't seen the movie!"' Amber paused and flipped the piece of paper over. 'That's it?! What is with these short, confusing clues? What does it mean?' She shook the paper angrily. 'Tell me!'

Hex gently grabbed Amber's hands and pulled the paper from them. 'Let me see.' He scanned the few words and mumbled under his breath for a couple of seconds. '"Jump in the deep end" could mean that we have to either do something outside our comfort zones or it could take a more literal meaning as in we actually have to jump into the deep end of something. Water probably. Could be both. "Hope you haven't seen the movie." Hmm. A movie. Now say the first part relates to actually diving into deep water, then the movie would probably be about something that lives in the water. "Hope you haven't seen the movie" could mean that the thing in this water that we must jump into could be dangerous and we would be more than likely be more terrified if we saw this movie.' Hex mumbled to himself while his four friends watched in bewilderment. 'Hang on a tic. What's this?' In the bottom corner of the page was a number. '1970s.'

'Jaws was written, not made into a movie, in the 1970s,' Alex said.

'Say that the movie that John hoped we hadn't seen was Jaws, which fits with the 1970s bit, then I suppose we're meant to go swimming with sharks.' Li and Paulo grew big eyed while Amber squeaked.

'Swimming with _sharks_?' she asked in a strangled voice. 'Like the big, fish things that live in the ocean? Like the thing that tried to eat us when we were lost at sea?' Li nodded enthusiastically.

'Bags diving,' she said happily. 'Paulo? Do you want to dive too.' He nodded and she grinned at Amber. 'Don't worry, Amber. Paulo and I can dive. The question is, where?'

The five friends sat in silence, thinking.

'I am so sorry!' Phoebe panted up to their table. 'I forgot all about this.' She flung another sheet of paper and a business card down on their table and darted back to the bar. Amber seized the paper and read it eagerly.

'"Hi guys! Well done for finding your second clue. Your first few clues I have made a bit easier by giving you hints but it will get harder and don't expect a letter from me every time. The card should tell you where to go but you have to work out what you are meant to do. Have fun!"' Amber finished reading and flicked the card towards her. 'Where's Manly?'

* * *

Li and Paulo stood by the entrance to the tank, wetsuits on and huge grins on their faces. _This is so awesome!_ Li thought. _Wow! I can't believe I'm about to dive with sharks!_

Alpha Force had taken the ferry to Manly which took them about a half hour or so. Once there they had gone to Oceanworld and shortly after that Li and Paulo were getting ready to dive in the huge 5 million litre tank. Alex, Amber and Hex stood in the viewing tunnel, waiting for Li and Paulo to appear.

'There they are!' Amber cried as Paulo and Li splashed into the tank. They swam around slowly, getting nudged by sharks, rays and assorted fish.

'What exactly are they looking for?' Hex said quietly.

'I have no idea,' Alex answered.

'Do they?'

'I don't think so.'

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Li was cruising next to a grey nurse shark when she spied an open treasure chest. Motioning to Paulo she dove towards it, leaving the shark to continue its swim without her. She circled the chest cautiously, hoping that there wasn't a huge fish in there ready to bite her hand off. The chest seemed to be clear and she reached down into it, Paulo hovering nervously at her side. The clue was in a waterproof bag and Paulo gave Li a hug. A ray watched them suspiciously as they swam to the top of the tank. They had done it.

* * *

'How long does it take to get changed?' Hex complained.

'Yeah. I want to see what the clue is,' Amber added. Alex was going to add a comment when Li and Paulo made their entrance. They sat around a table in the Oceanworld cafeteria and carefully pulled out the paper from its waterproof casing.

'Li can read it, since she found it,' Alex said. Li pulled the paper towards her.

'"You five are on a roll! Keep it up! This isn't so much of a clue as a request. You will all have jet lag so go to the hotel in Sydney I booked and rest up for however long you need. When you think you are all ready to continue the hunt, head back to Sydney airport and go to the car rental counter. Ask for Gus and he will tell you your next clue." There's a receipt and direction to the hotel here as well. A rest sounds like a really good idea. I'm stuffed.' Li lay her head down on the table, suddenly feeling the effects of jet lag.

'Come on, Li. Lets get the ferry back then we can all have a big, long sleep in comfy beds.' Amber grabbed the petite Anglo-Chinese girl under her arms and started to drag her across the cafeteria, towards the exit.

'Just smile and wave,' Hex muttered to Alex as several other visitors to the aquarium looked uncertainly in Amber and Li's direction. 'Why does she feel like she needs to attract attention everywhere she goes?'

Alex smiled. 'You wouldn't like her any other way.'

Hex glared at his friend. 'What's that meant to mean?' Alex shrugged and ran to catch up with Paulo, leaving Hex grumbling to himself.

**Hope you guys like it so far. This should be the basics for each chapter (a clue or two per chapter). If you've read any of my other fics you would probably guess that I am a big fan of Amber/Hex pairing but not so much Li/Paulo. This story will be mostly adventure but could have a touch of Amber/Hex. Hope that's ok for everyone and I apologise to those fans of Li/Paulo. I find it way harder to write.**

**Emmalea xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Alpha Force could only stay at the hotel for one day. They were too hyped up at the prospect of a new clue. Li had been nagging them since their first night there and by the time it was day two of their stay, they were all fed up.

'Ok! If you stop climbing the walls and whinging, we can go,' Alex had yelled. Li had immediately calmed down and sat quietly while Amber payed their bill and called a cab.

'Wonder where we're going,' Amber mused.

'To Sydney airport, to the car rental counter, to see Gus,' Hex answered.

'I know that. I meant about the next clue.'

Hex sighed. 'Stop wondering. We're here.'

The five teenagers climbed out of the cab and gathered their bags.

'Thanks so much,' Amber said as she paid their driver. 'Have a nice day!' She waved at the departing taxi. 'What?'

Hex rolled his eyes and followed Alex inside the airport.

'Car rentals. They should be right about...' Alex spun around with his eyes closed and flung his hand out in front of him. 'There.'

Hex snorted with laughter. 'That's the ladies room, Alex. The car rentals are over there.' He waved a hand in the completely opposite direction to the one which Alex was pointing, towards a huge sign that screamed "Rent A Car Here".

'I knew that,' he grumbled and trailed after Hex.

* * *

'Is there a Gus here?' Amber smiled sweetly at the woman behind the desk. She was chewing angrily on a stick of chewing gum and breathing heavily, as if she was going to leap over the desk and strangle Amber with her bare hands. Her name tag announced, 'Hello. My name is Helga.' 

'Who wants to know,' she said menacingly.

'We do. If he's round can we possibly speak to him?'

Helga did more heavy breathing, closed her eyes and seemed to be counting. Finally she answered. 'Gus ain't 'ere.'

Amber was about to press the matter when Hex gently took hold of her arm and pulled her back a bit.

'Leave it,' he whispered. 'I don't want to have to scrape you off the airport floor.'

'I can look after myself, thank you very much. I don't need you to watch my back every second of the day,' Amber replied angrily.

Helga was watching their exchange with what could have passed for amusement. Her face softened.

'Ain't that sweet. Your boyfriend just wants to make sure you're alright, honey. I wish mine was that caring.'

Amber stared at her opened mouthed. 'He isn't my boyfriend. Not even my friend really,' she added with a dagger look in Hex's direction. She couldn't fail to notice the amused expression on Hex's face, or hear the muffled giggles of Alex, Li and Paulo behind her.

'Sure, sweetie. Now. Who did you want again? Gus? I'll get him for you.' Helga disappeared behind the curtain that screened off the back of the rental counter.

There was a brief silence before Li, unable to suppress her giggles any longer, snorted with laughter. Amber glared at her but she shook her head.

'Sorry. Sorry. It's just... Oh God that was funny!' Li took deep gulps of air before breaking into hysterical giggles once again. 'The look on your face!' Amber regarded Li with distaste.

'You are so very sad, Li,' she said.

'Poor Hex. You must feel so insulted,' Li said, finally managing to get her laughter under control.

'Why would I be insulted?'

'Amber's utter horror at the thought at being your girlfriend.'

Hex grinned and slipped his arm around Amber's waist. 'She's a good actress. Doesn't want anyone to know the truth.' Amber shuddered and stepped out of his grasp.

'Dream on, gadget boy. I'd rather date a slug than you.' Hex grinned again and blew a kiss in Amber's direction.

'I love you too.'

Helga came back, caught Hex's last words, beamed, then sniffed.

'That's so sweet. Not many boys your age will admit something like that in public.' Hex raised his eyebrows and coughed. Helga had gone from being an ogre that looked like she would eat them, to a sentimental little fairy. The only danger they were in now was being drowned in Helga's tears.

Amber made a retching sound at the back of her throat and stalked off. Helga looked concerned.

'Is she ok? Not choking on something is she?'

'She's fine. Did you find Gus?' Alex took control of the situation.

'Yeah. He said he'll be with you soon. You can wait on the bench if you want.' Helga jabbed a podgy finger in the direction of a dilapidated wooden bench that looked as if it was in severe danger of collapse into a pile of splinters.

'Err... We're fine standing, thanks.'

They moved away from the counter so that the next lot of customers could be served by Helga. She was keeping her sweet and lovely look on now and the customers looked relived. Paulo glanced around him.

'Where did Amber go?' he asked. Li shrugged then changed her mind and nodded towards the gift shop.

'There she is. I'll go get her.' Li bounced off towards her friend.

Alex shot Hex a sympathetic look. 'You're dead meat.'

'Why?'

'The little episode with Helga? That's why.'

Hex gulped and looked about him nervously. 'I feel the sudden urge to wander about. Coming?' Alex declined his offer but Paulo agreed and the two of them started to walk briskly in the opposite direction to the gift shop.

* * *

Li tapped Amber on the shoulder. 

'Lighten up, Amber. Just a joke.' Amber rolled her eyes and started to walk over to Alex.

'It's ok. I got over it. It was a very funny, positively side-splitting, humorous beyond means joke. Let's move on shall we?'

The two girls made their way over to where Alex was considering the bench with a thoughtful look on his face.

'You're not seriously considering sitting on that, Alex?'

Alex looked up, startled. 'No, no. I was just curious as to what is actually holding it up. Apart from the termites.' He blinked at Amber. 'Happy again?'

'Shut up,' Amber growled.

'Ok. No need to bite my head off.' He saw Amber's curious and slightly annoyed glance around them. 'Hex and Paulo got bored and went for a walk. They'll be back soon.'

'They better be, because here comes Gus with our next clue.' Li jigged excitedly in place. 'We don't have to wait for them do we?'

Gus strolled up and smiled at the three teenagers. His smile turned to a thoughtful frown as he counted them.

'Helga said there were five of you,' he said.

'There are. The other two went walking. We can get the clue now, though. Don't have to wait for them to show up.' Li tapped her foot impatiently. 'Do you have it?'

Gus blinked slowly at Li. 'Have it?' he asked.

'The clue.'

'The clue?'

'The clue that John Middleton gave you to give to us.'

'John Middleton?'

'Oh for Christ's sake. Are you a bloody parrot?!' Li shouted in frustration.

Gus jumped backwards. 'What?'

Alex kicked Li to shut her up, ignored her yelp and spoke gently to Gus. 'Yes. He might have sent you a piece of paper. With a riddle or sentence or two on it.'

Gus' face slowly creased into a smile. 'Ohhhh. Yes. I remember now. The paper... With the writing... It's in my wallet. I'll be back in a second.' He scurried back towards the counter.

'I don't think that he's the brightest crayon in the packet,' Li muttered as she rubbed her shin where Alex had kicked her. Amber sighed.

'Here he comes,' she announced.

Gus hurried towards them, smiled broadly and handed Alex a white envelope.

'There you are! Have fun kids!' He disappeared back towards the curtain.

Alex started to open the envelope when Hex and Paulo barrelled into him.

'You were going to open it without us?!' Paulo sounded shocked.

'How could you?' Hex snatched the envelope from Alex and opened it with a flourish. 'We get to open it now.' He and Paulo bent over the envelope and whispered to each other.

'I wanna see! Paulo. Hex. Let me look.' Li pushed her way between the two boys. 'What's it say?' She read the clue to herself. 'Better make that what's it mean.'

'"I am 600 feet tall, but am not a mountain, a tree or a tower. My body resembles shells yet I am not an egg, nor do I live in the sea. My gestation period took 14 years, and I had more than one father. With sails I stand, a marker, famous and significant. The colonel loves lemonade."'

Amber sighed again and rubbed her head. 'This is so confusing. I need to sit down.'

Hex looked up, startled. 'No, Amber! Don't sit on the-' He broke off as Amber fell through the bench and landed in a pile of sawdust, splinters and termites. 'Bench.'

* * *

Hex's fingers flew across the keyboard. He had been trying to crack the riddle for the past half hour and was finally done. Just a couple more checks and... 

'I got it. It's the Sydney Opera House. We have to go there to find our next clue.'

**The next chapter will explain why this riddle's answer is the Sydney Opera House and have them finding one or two more clues. Some action and a twist is coming up so keep your eyes peeled. I can't claim first part fo the riddle as it came from the internet.**

**Emmalea xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Had slight writer's block with A Haunting Truth so I will concentrate on this fic for a little while and try to get some ideas flowing. Argh! Dear Diary is being so very difficult. I have hardly written any more and I feel so bad. The first two lots of diary/journal entires (Survival and Rat Catcher) were really easy but Desert Pursuit is being very troublesome. I will have it up ASAP. Saw National Treasure 2 a few days ago and had massive amounts of inspiring ideas thrown at me so I have basically the entire plot of this story planned out now. I have taken a few ideas from the movie so I can't claim them.**

'I see,' Li said slowly.

'I don't,' Alex announced.

'Neither do I,' Li admitted. 'Explain.'

Hex grinned. 'It's so tiresome being the only clever one in this group.'

'You won't look so smart when you're on the floor being pummelled,' Li growled.

Hex held up his hands in defeat. 'I took a gamble and guessed that it would be in Sydney, since I doubted that John would make us fly somewhere else so soon. There was a high possibility that, like Oceanworld, the thing we were looking for would be a tourist attraction. Since it was not a mountain, tree or tower, it seemed that this thing was man made. There were a few places such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House that could have been it. The rest of the clue fell into place when I did some research.' He paused and fiddled with his palmtop. Within a couple of seconds a picture of the Sydney Opera House was displayed on the screen. 'See? The body looks like shells or sails.'

'What about this part? "My gestation period took 14 years, and I had more than one father". What does that mean?' Paulo looked expectantly at Hex.

'I can answer that too. The Opera House took 14 years to build and had numerous architects working on it. "Gestation period" is same as "time taken to create something" and "father" is like the creators. All the architects were male so that fits as well.' Hex snapped his palmtop's lid shut with a satisfying _click_. 'There you have it. Shall we head off?'

'Wait a minute Sherlock.' Amber pushed Hex back into his seat. 'What about the last line. "The colonel loves lemonade". I suppose you figured that out too?'

'Ah. Not exactly. That one stumped me but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough.'

'Let's go then.' Amber rang for a taxi and before long they were zooming towards the harbour.

* * *

Paulo stared at the Opera House with wonder. '600 feet tall. That is amazing. It is huge,' he said breathlessly. Li rolled her eyes.

'It's a building, Paulo. Come on. Let's go find us a clue!' She raced towards the entrance, closely followed by Amber and Paulo. Hex and Alex brung up the rear, choosing to take a more sedate pace.

'"The colonel loves lemonade". What does that mean?' ex shook his head and frowned. '"The colonel loves lemonade."' He stopped suddenly, staring at a sign in the distance. 'Hold on a minute. I think I've got it.' He set off at a run, passing Amber, Paulo and Li who had stopped to wait for him and Alex to catch up. Hex tripped down the stairs and, cursing, stumbled towards the Colonnade, an entrance set in the left hand side of the Opera House.

'This is it. The Colonnade,' Hex puffed when his four friends caught up.

Amber glanced at the entrance. 'This?' She looked at Hex. 'Why?'

'I was taking the words to literarily. Something loves something else, it's similar to joining. C-O-L-O-N-E-L-L-E-M-O-N-A-D-E. That didn't' make any sense but then I looked up and saw the sign.' He pointed towards the entrance. 'I took out a few letters and there it was. Colonnade.'

'How does he do that?' Li murmured as she followed Hex inside the Opera House. Hex heard her and grinned.

Amber rolled her eyes. 'Don't give him any more hot air to add to his head.' She pushed past Hex and stared around the entrance hall. 'Ok Mr Know-it-all. Where do we find our next clue?' She turned round to face Hex, a triumphant grin on her face. Hex ignored her and started towards a vending machine in the corner of the room. He scrutinized it closely.

'Um. Hex?' Paulo said. 'We can have a drink break later. Right now should we not be concentrating on finding the clue?' Hex waved a hand at him dismissively.

'He's just trying to distract from the fact that he has absolutely no idea where to find it. Right, Hex?' Amber crossed her arms and smirked.

'Ah ha!' Hex dove behind the vending machine and emerged holding an envelope. Amber's jaw dropped.

'Go Hex!' Li punched the air. 'What does it say?'

'Never mind what it says.' Amber glared at Hex. 'How did you know it was there?'

Hex closed his eyes and sighed. 'I never get tired of being the clever one.' He smiled at Amber. 'I don't think I'll tell you.'

'Why not?'

'Because you were mean to me. You doubted my clue solving skills. You-'

'Ok, ok.' Amber held up her hands in defeat. 'I apologise. I will never doubt your intelligence again. Now tell me how you knew it was there.'

'It was another use of the last sentence. "The colonel loves lemonade". This,' he said tapping the vending machine,' is a Colonel brand vending machine. Lemonade is the fourth drink down so on the back of the machine I looked to the fourth spot and there it was.' Alex, Paulo and Li clapped while Amber just blinked.

'I see,' she said finally.

'Now. What does it say?' Li peered over Hex's shoulder at the envelope. 'Open it!'

Hex ripped open the envelope and a small business card fell out. '"Emc2."' He flipped the card over. 'The State Library of New South Wales.' Peering inside the envelope he muttered, 'This is ridiculous.'

''That's it?' Alex asked in disbelief.

Hex thrust the card and envelope at Alex. 'See for yourself.' He walked away from their little group, frowning in concentration.

Amber watched him go and shook her head in defeat. Despite everything she had said, she had had complete faith in Hex to solve every clue. This one seemed to have stumped him though. If Hex couldn't solve, what hope did they have?

'Why is it on a library's business card?' Paulo wondered.

'Maybe John couldn't find anything else to write on.' Li stared at the card as if that might make a simpler clue to decipher appear. Hex stopped and came walking back to them.

'No.' He took the card off Paulo and tapped it on the vending machine. 'Why would he have a business card for a library in Sydney? It's a clue. We must have to go to the State Library of New South Wales.'

* * *

'Holy cow,' Li breathed in awe. 'This place is big. For a library.'

Alex looked up from his tourist information booklet. 'Says here this library can trace its origin back to 1826. Inside there is the Mitchell Library, the Dixson Library, the Macquarie Street Wing and the State Reference Library. Oh. Don't forget the Library Shop and the two cafés. This place has everything!'

'What are we waiting for?' Amber asked impatiently. 'We got us a clue to find!'


	5. Chapter 5

Hex sat down at the library computer and quickly brought up the catalogue. 'Ok. What are we looking for exactly?'

Amber slid into the seat next to him and pulled the business card out of Hex's backpack. '"Emc2" is the clue so could it be a book on Albert Einstein?' she offered.

'I'll have a look.' Hex hit some keys and the screen filled with a list of books.

'There are so many. Which one is it?' Paulo said.

Hex shrugged. 'Guess we just have to look through al the most likely ones.'

'Yeah right,' Li scoffed. 'I for one am not sitting here all afternoon looking for books on mathematics, space and time and relativity,' she added reading off the subject list next to each book.

'We don't have to,' Alex said quietly. He took the mouse off Hex and got into the main catalogue page. 'Type in the equation.' Hex complied. 'See? Only four hits and one of them is checked out.'

'Are you sure that the clue will be in one of these books?' Li asked sceptically.

'Weren't you the one who was complaining about the possibility of sitting here all afternoon going through hundreds off books?' Alex retorted. Li shut up and became very interested in a statue. 'We can narrow it down even further.'

'How?' Amber asked.

'This might not be correct but Albert Einstein formulated this equation, right? So we might be looking for a book that is not only entitled Emc2 but has a picture of Albert Einstein on the cover.'

'Brilliant, Alex!' Hex congratulated him. 'I take back what I said about being the only smart one in the group. There are two of us.'

Amber rolled her eyes and scrolled through the four books. 'Looks like there are only two with Einstein on the cover and one of those is the one that's checked out.'

Li overheard and bounced over. 'Just one? Tell we where it is and I'll go get it.' Hex gave her the book's location and she hurried off, getting disapproving glances from several serious library goers. Two minutes later she reappeared.

'I would have been back sooner but it's so confusing with all the numbers and letters... Here you go!' Li tapped Alex on the head with the book before passing it to him. 'Have a squiz.' She leaned over his shoulder and peered at the book. 'What are you waiting for?'

Let's go over there. It's a bit less crowded.' Alex pointed across the room to a little corner, tucked away behind the reference section.

A few minutes later they were all seated in a circle with the book in the centre.

'Why are we just staring at it?' Amber whispered.

'I don't know. Are we scared?' Hex whispered back. Amber swatted at him and he leant back against the wall. There was a tiny _click _as his back hit the wall but it was so quiet no one noticed.

'Alex can do it. He figured it out.' Paulo pushed the book across the circle, towards Alex. He picked it up and gingerly opened the front cover. Yet another envelope fell out.

Li sighed. 'When will it end?'

'"Good job guys! Your stay in Australia is at its end. I know you've only been there a short while and had only a few clues but I couldn't think of any more. Your plane leaves in three days so check into the hotel I booked and enjoy the rest of your holiday. You never know, there could be more clues when you come back to Boston."'

'That's it? No more clues?' Despite her earlier comment, Li felt deflated. She could see why people became treasure hunters, even if they hadn't been chasing real treasure. 'I was really getting into that.'

'It is rather addictive,' Paulo said. His four friends nodded their agreement.

'Well. That's that I suppose.' Hex stretched and looked around the circle. 'Shall we go to the hotel? We missed lunch and I'm getting hungry.'

Amber glanced at her watch. 'Oh my God! We did miss lunch. I thought I was feeling a bit weird. Time gets away really fast doesn't it?' Se paused. 'The hotel sounds like a good idea. I need to eat.'

They all got up except for Hex how waited until there was more room to move. As he stood up there was a second, louder _click_ that they all heard.

'What was that?' Li's heard whipped round in Hex's direction. Hex didn't see her look because he had turned around and was staring at where he thought the noise had come from.

'I think it came from the wall.' He knelt down and ran his fingers over the surface.

Amber crouched beside him. 'It sounded like a latch.' She started to fell over the wall as well. 'Hang on. What's this?' Careful not to push bit back into place, she and Hex prised the tiny door open. It was perfectly camouflage and you could hardly see where the door ended and the wood began.

'Wow!' Li gasped as Amber reached inside and pulled out a little box that fit perfectly into the palm of her hand.

'When I leant against the wall it must have activated the switch,' Hex said.

'We should go back to the hotel and have a look at this,' Amber said softly as she gently cupped the box in her hands.

'It looks very old,' Paulo observed.

'You should carry it, Amber. It'll get bumped around in my backpack.' Hex helped Amber to her feet and they walked casually to the exit.

'Oi!'

'Uhoh,' Li whispered to Paulo.

A security guard that looked as if he should have retired a decade ago, came shuffling over to them. 'Just where are you taking that book?'

'Book?' Alex asked in confusion.

'Book. It's a reference book. Not allowed off the premises.' He reached towards Alex and plucked the book from his hands.

Alex looked at it with wide eyes. 'I am so sorry, sir. I forgot all about it. I'm late for an appointment at the doctor's and my mum is going to be _furious_ if I don't show up on time and I have to walk there because dad backed over my bike and I haven't got enough money for a bus ticket and-'

'It's ok. I'm not that mad. Just remember for next time ok.' He smiled and turned to go but almost immediately swung back around. 'Here.' He thrust a pile of coins into Alex's hand. 'Money for the bus.' He scurried off.

Alpha Force stared at the money.

'Forget the Army, Alex,' Amber chuckled. 'You could make a killing as a con man.'

They quickly left the library, not wanting to attract any more unwanted attention. As they hurried through the park, Amber turned to Alex.

'Seriously though. How did you do that?'

'Do what?'

'What you did with the security guy. Convince him that you were a kid who was running late with a tyrant of a mother.'

Alex smiled. 'This may surprise you, Amber, but I used to take acting lessons.'

Amber stopped dead. 'Really?' She would have added more but was knocked over as someone cannoned into her back. 'Oof!' The box fell from her grasp but luckily landed on the grass.

'Oh my- I'm so sorry. Look what I've done now!' Untangling herself from Amber was a girl about their age. She had curly blonde hair, green eyes and a worried frown. 'I'm so clumsy!' As she tried to stand up, they could all see why she had crashed into Amber; on her feet were a pair of rollerblades. She spotted them looking at her feet. 'Bloody things. Wish I'd never bought them. It's like trying to walk on water.'

Alex stepped forward and helped her to her feet while Hex made sure Amber was ok. Paulo and Li were searching for the box, but couldn't find it.

'Great,' Li muttered. 'Just great!'

The girl smiled apologetically as she finally regained her balance. 'I'm really sorry.'

Amber shook her head. 'It's ok. I shouldn't have stopped in the middle of the path.'

'Oh dear me- Where are my manners. My name's Holly.'

'I'm Amber and this is Alex and Hex. The two searching the bushes are Li and Paulo.'

Holly frowned. 'Why are they searching the bushes?'

'I was carrying this little box and I kind of flung it in the air when-'

'My fault again. I'll help you find it.'

The six of them spread out and searched the area around them.

'Found it!' Hex called. He carried the box over to the group and placed it back in Amber's grasp. 'There you go.'

Holly stared at the box, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. 'Where-where did you get that?'

'In the library. I leant against this wall and a little door popped open. The box was inside.' Hex felt puzzled. What was so fascinating about this box?

'Can I see it for a minute?' Holly asked.

'Sure.' Hex took the box off Amber, who glared at him, and gave it to Holly. 'What's so important about it?'

Holly ignored him and studied the box carefully. 'It is,' she murmured. 'I can't believe it! This is it!' She looked up at Alpha Force. 'Are you guys hungry? I know this great little café. Really cheap and has a good range of food. Let's go there.' Holly paused and looked back down at the box in her hands. 'I have to tell you some stuff.'

**The book mentioned is an actual book but I'm not actually sure if there is a picture of Einstein on the cover. My library's catalogue didn't have a picture for it. **


	6. Chapter 6

'What do you have to tell us?'

The six teenagers were sitting at an outside table of a small café on Macquarie Street. Their orders had been taken by a smiling waitress with a sign proclaiming "Ask me about our Special Sunday offer" strapped to her back.

Alex looked expectantly at Holly. 'Well?'

'Ok.' She took a gulp of her water. 'This might take a little while.'

'Go ahead,' Amber said impatiently.

'Before I get to the box, I need to tell you a little bit about Walter Huts. About fifty years ago he died, but not before he became one of the richest men in Australia. His wealth wasn't just money but statues, ornaments, priceless antiques, artefacts from centuries ago. While it was all his, he hadn't collected it all. Hundreds of years ago, somewhere in the 18th century I think, his ancestors began collecting it. Slowly the treasure built up and up until it was so large and worth so much the owner had to hide it. This treasure was passed down through the family to the eldest son of the current holder. In this way it always stayed in the Huts family and was never sold off. When Walter died he didn't leave the treasure to anyone. He had never married and had no children. It seemed that the treasure would be sold and the money put into charities, but when the time came to read Walter's will, there was no mention of any treasure. It was if it didn't exist.'

'And does it?' Amber asked.

'Of course,' Holly replied defensively. 'Can you let me finish? It was a mystery. No one knew where Walter had hidden the treasure or even whether it was still in his name. Could he have sold it off, regardless of his ancestors' wishes? This seemed unlikely as there were no records or anything else to indicate this had happened. Eventually it was decided that Walter had hidden this multi million dollar treasure trove somewhere. Apparently he was a bit of a miser and didn't like to give anything away. This seemed to apply after death as well. The news wasn't meant to get out but someone leaked it to the press and it started a rush. People from all over the world started to look for Walter's treasure. Everyone was caught up in it. My great-grandfather was one of them but, unlike everyone else, he never gave up. 'Till the day he died, my great-grandfather searched for that treasure but never succeeded. The same went for my grandfather. My dad looked for it when he was younger but gave up. I want to find it. The box you found is what I have been searching for over the past three years.'

'What's so great about the box?' Li said.

'This box could hold the secret to the treasure. I should have guessed it would be in the library. That's one thing my grandfather said. Walter was very academic and he loved reading. The only thing he spent his money on was in donations to the library. If he had left any clue as to where his treasure is, it would have been there.' Holly gulped down the rest of her water, licked her lips and rubbed her temples before continuing. 'Three years ago I had the opportunity to visit Walter's house. It's been preserved and is used for invitation only tours. I managed to secure an invitation and went along. While I was in the bathroom, I noticed that one of the floor tiles was loose. This struck me as odd because the house, as I said before, is kept meticulously clean and nothing is every broken or damage. I levered up the tile and fund this key.' She hooked a silver key on a chain out from her pocket. 'I had no idea what it opened as there was nothing else there. Now I think I know.'

'The box,' Paulo said.

'Yes. The box.'

They stared at the ornately carved box that sat in the centre of their table. It was amazing to think that they had found, purely by chance, something that could contain the answer to a fifty year old mystery.

'This is my whole life. Since I was a baby, my dad took me with him in his searches for this treasure. I have grown up with this mystery imprinted in my head. I have to figure it out. I know you found the box and I have a proposal for you. Your box, my key. We can look for the treasure together. Six heads are better than one.' Holly looked imploringly at Alex, Hex, Li, Paulo and Amber. 'Please. You have no idea how much this would mean to me. We'll split whatever we find.'

'If we find anything at all,' Amber muttered.

Holly turned to her, annoyed. 'You're very pessimistic, aren't you?'

'No. I'm just cautious that's all. Also,' she added turning to the rest of Alpha Force, 'Uncle said we're flying back to Boston in three days. Doubt that's going to be enough time to find a treasure that has eluded people for fifty years.'

'I'm sure he won't have a problem letting us stay here for a bit longer,' Hex argued.

'How long is this going to take to find?' Li asked.

'Who knows? If we find every clue relatively quickly and there isn't that many clues, not too long. But I really couldn't say.' Holly sighed. 'Look. I don't usually say this but I really need help. Set a deadline. If we haven't found anything then, you can go home.'

'And you'll find and keep all the treasure,' Amber concluded.

'No. I'm not interested in the wealth. I'm interested in the history. If I find it after you've gone, you'd have still helped me amazingly. I'll find a way to get your shares to you.'

It seemed like Amber was going to come up with another argument but luckily their food arrived. For the next ten minutes, silence reigned over the table as everyone ate ravenously. When they'd all finished and their plates were piled in the middled of the table, Holly started up the conversation again.

'If you don't want to help, I'll buy the box off you.'

'What if it's not for sale?' Amber replied.

Holly gave Amber a strange look. 'What's your problem?'

'My problem?' Amber echoed. 'You come in here with your long winded story of Walter whatshisface with no proof what-so-ever and expect us to hand over a box that we just found. How are supposed to know you're legit?' Amber raised her eyebrows and stared at Holly.

Hex cleared his throat and pushed his chair back. 'Can I talk to you for a minute, Amber?' She rolled her eyes but got up and followed him down the street a little bit.

Hex turned to her. 'Holly's right. What is you're problem? Are you still harbouring resentment because she knocked you over?'

'What? No! I just...'

'Come on, Amber. You're holding something back. What's wrong with Holly?'

'I don't know... I just think we shouldn't trust her.'

'Why?'

'I don't know,' she wailed. 'I just have this really bad feeling that she isn't as loyal as she makes out.'

Hex looked at Amber and shook his head. 'Well everyone else, except for you, seems to find her fine. If you've got a problem why don't you ring your uncle up and get him to change your flight to earlier.'

'You're not taking her offer.'

'I'm in. Don't know about the others but I'm pretty sure Alex is too.'

'Don't you trust me?'

'Huh?'

'I've just told you that I don't think Holly is as perfect as she makes out and now you're saying that you're going to help her find this "treasure". That to me says that you don't trust my judgement.'

'Amber. I think you're overreacting. I do trust you. I trust Alex, Paulo and Li as well. I'm just saying that I think you might be wrong this time.' Amber's face fell and Hex softened his tone. 'Look. Find me some proof and I'll believe you. But until then I'm going to help Holly.' He reached out to squeeze her hand but she pulled away and walked back to the café. He stared at her back for a moment before following.

'Yeah!' Li bounced in her seat. 'You're back. Now we can open the box.'

Holly smiled at Li and turned towards Hex. 'We kinda decided that the one way to decided what's going to happen is to open the box. If there's nothing inside or nothing to do with this treasure, well... You can figure the rest out.' Her eyes shining with excitement, Holly pushed the key into the lock of the box and turned. It _clicked _and Holly grinned. 'Ok.' Gingerly she pulled up the lid of the box.

'What is it?' Paulo leaned forward as Holly gently picked up a piece of stone with words carved into it and placed it on the table.

'It's a clue,' Hex said.

Holly took a few shaky breathes and nodded. 'So. Is this where we part ways? Or are you guys going to help me find this treasure?'

Hex shot a quick glance in Amber's direction but she was looking at the tablecloth. He felt a small twinge of guilt but pushed it down. She _was _being paranoid. 'I'm in.'

'Me too,' Alex said.

'We are,' Paulo and Li added.

Everyone turned to look at Amber. 'I don't really have a choice, do I? Either I go back to Boston and forfeit the rest of my holiday with my friends, or stay here, help you find this stupid treasure and spend time with them.' She paused. 'I'm not in, but I'm coming.'

'Let's see what that clue says.' Hex said pulling the piece of stone towards him. 'Then we can start looking for this treasure.'

**Give me a chapter or two and I'll get some action for you all. It might take me a wee bit to update as I have to come up with some more clues/riddles/codes. **


	7. Chapter 7

'"Legend of old, quay of new,"' Hex read off the stone. He frowned. 'It's the wrong "key".'

'Huh?' Li screwed her face up. 'What are you talking about?'

'Look.' Hex shoved the stone under Li's nose. 'The wrong "key". It should be spelt k-e-y not q-u-a-y. That's the harbour quay not the unlock something key.' Li looked even more confused so Hex sighed and brought up the dictionary on his palmtop. Three minutes later Li was shaking the stone and muttering, 'It's the wrong "key".'

Holly gently took the stone off Li and studied it. 'First law of treasure hunting. Nothing is a mistake. Everything is deliberate.' She got blank looks from her new friends so she decided to elaborate. 'This clue is meant to have what it has. It's not a spelling error but a deliberate one.' Hex was the only one whose eyes lit up with recognition.

'It's part of the clue.'

'Exactly.' She smiled at Hex. 'A very important part of the clue.'

'Can I have a look again?' Hex asked Holly.

'Of course.' She passed the stone over and Hex looked at it carefully.

'"Legend of old". That could be a person who was considered a legend way back in time.'

'Or not so way back. Australia is only a young country; Captain Cook sailed here in 1770 and the First Fleet arrived in 1788. By other countries standards we're just a little tot.' She ran her thumb over the inscription. 'So the first line means a person who was regarded great many years ago. What about the second part?'

Hex took the stone back. 'Like you said, "quay" is important. Could we be looking for a harbour or something by the ocean that is named after our legend?'

Holly frowned and mouthed some words. Suddenly her face lit up. 'Maybe that's just a word to get us on the right track to our legend. Our legend has something to do with the sea. A sailor? Or a captain of an expedition?'

'You have an idea, don't you?' Hex grinned. 'Spill.'

'Australia's history really began with Captain Cook making him a sort of legend. Perhaps he is the legend of old that Walter's talking about.' She drummed her fingers on the table before turning back to Hex. 'Could I borrow your palmtop for a minute?' Li, Amber, Paulo and Alex all held their breath. No one, _no one at all_, touched Hex's palmtop. Ever. But Hex surprised them all.

'Sure.' He calmly pushed his precious computer over to Holly without even a slight hesitation. Li actually felt Amber twitch beside her.

'Obviously we aren't looking for Captain Cook; he's been dead for decades. We must be looking for something that represents him though. His grave?' She tapped away at the keyboard. 'Or a statue.' Holly spun the little computer around so that the screen was facing Hex. 'This is the Captain Cook Memorial Statue at the Catani Gardens in St Kilda, Victoria. The highest occurring hit and in an area where Walter lived for half his life. Seems like a good spot to try.'

Hex nodded then seemed to remember his other friends. 'Oh. Ah, do you guys agree?' Paulo, Li and Alex nodded in bewilderment. It had Hex and Holly about ten minutes to possibly decode a clue that had been kept hidden for fifty years. Was that normal? Amber merely grunted.

'What was that, Amber?' Hex teased her.

'It doesn't matter what we think, you'd still go ahead with it.'

Hex looked like he'd been slapped. He gave a puzzled frown and stared at Amber. 'What makes you think that?' She ignored him and walked away to buy a bottle of water.

'Is she always like this?' Holly asked.

'Of course not,' Hex defended Amber. 'I don't know what's wrong with her today.'

'Let's not worry about why Amber's got her grumpy pants on,' Li piped up. 'We have to book tickets and pack and call John and-'

'Ok, ok. We get it.' Hex packed up his palmtop and put it back in its protective black case that was always strapped to his belt. 'When Amber comes back we can go. She can call John back at the hotel; he might be able to get us plane tickets for tomorrow.'

Amber appeared, her sulky look replaced by a smile. Hex breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Amber was not a joy to have around when she was in a mood.

'If that's that then we'll meet back at the library entrance tomorrow at eight?' He looked at Holly to check if that was ok.

'Great! See you guys then.' With a wave she set off down the path, managing to keep her rollerblades under control.

* * *

'Hi!' Holly jogged up the library steps, having swapped her rollerblades for sneakers. 'Sorry but my dad cornered me and wanted to know what I was doing today. I just said that I was catching up with some friends. Not exactly a lie, I just left out what we'd be doing.'

'I thought your dad was a treasure hunter?' Alex asked. 'Does he mind you searching for this treasure?'

'Hell yes!' Holly said bitterly. 'He thinks I should give it all up, "concentrate on my education and stop chasing mysteries" in his own words. That's rich coming from him; he was the reason my mum left us. She couldn't stick him always disappearing and spending all our money on "fruitless attempts". If he knew what I was doing now I'd be grounded for the next fifty years.'

'Ok,' Hex said slowly. 'Amber's uncle got us tickets; we leave in three hours and have to be at the airport an hour or so before we leave.' He paused. 'How are you going to explain why you're away to your dad?'

'I'll just tell him I'm staying at my Nan's. He won't check; doesn't want to talk to her 'cause she's mum's mum. No one will ever know.' She held up a battered rucksack. 'I got my stuff. When do we leave again?'

* * *

It was a short flight to Melbourne airport and a forty minute drive from the airport to St Kilda.

'Where's Catani Gardens?' Li asked, craning her neck to check for signs.

Their taxi driver smiled at Li's enthusiasm and pointed towards the coast. 'Over there. We'll be there soon.' He pulled up at a set of traffic lights and looked in the rear-view mirror at his six passengers. 'What do you kids want at the gardens?'

'We're meeting our parents there,' Holly put in quickly.

The taxi driver's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. 'You're not all related are you?'

Holly cast an anxious glance around the cab's interior. With her fair hair and blue eyes, the only person who could possibly past as her cousin would be Alex. 'Alex,' she said tapping him on the shoulder, 'is my cousin. He's staying with us for the holidays.' She thought quickly. 'He didn't really want to be stuck with just me and my younger sisters for company so he brought along his friend Hex.' Holly nodded at Hex. 'Amber, Paulo and Li,' she pointed at each of them in turn,' are on holidays over here. We met them at the park the other day. They wanted to do some site seeing so I said I'd show them around then we'd meet or families at the Gardens later on.' With a brilliant smile at the driver, Holly settled back in her seat. _Whew_, she thought as the driver seemed to accept her explanation and started forward again. Hex gave her a look of congratulations and she smiled back.

Good thinking, he mouthed.

Just a few minutes later the taxi pulled up and Amber payed the driver.

'Thanks,' she said as she handed over the money.

'No probs. Enjoy the rest of your holiday!' With a cheery smile and a wave he pulled out of the car park and drove off.

'So where do we go now,' Paulo asked as the six of them wandered across the Gardens.

Holly pointed towards a statue about twenty metres away. 'That's the memorial statue.'

They hurried over and circled the statue like a pack of hungry sharks.

'Small question,' Li said after five minutes of the circling and stooping. 'What are we looking for exactly?'

'A clue. Or a compartment that might hold a clue.' Hex stooped and then lay flat on the ground. 'Like this for instance.' He prodded a little slit in the base of the statue. 'This could be something.'

Holly lay down next to Hex and studied the slit. 'Good spotting. Now. How to open it?' She stood up again and walked to the front of the statue. 'This inscription could be the key. Literally.'

Hex stood next to her. 'What do you mean?'

Holly sorted through her backpack until she found the box, wrapped up in tissue paper and bubble wrap. She and Hex carefully unwrapped and turned it over. 'These numbers could be the key.' Careful not to scratch the box, Holly touched each of the three single digit numbers. 'Look at the statue. The same numbers are there.'

Hex nodded and reached out to push the numbers on the statue. 'They don't go in.'

'Try turning them, ' Amber said softly. She stepped up beside Hex and pushed the first number to the left. It spun easily. She did the next two and Li gave a gasp of delight.

'It worked!' She disappeared behind the statue to grab what was inside the slot. 'Look!'

Once they were all standing in a circle, Li carefully unrolled the paper. She stared at it in bewilderment and disappointment. 'It's a bunch of numbers.' Hex and Holly peered over her shoulders.

'Easy,' Hex said. 'I think he's used a Polybius Square to encipher the clue.'

Holly was nodding. 'Yep. My grandfather taught me about them. I have some paper and a pen in my bag.' She grabbed the mentioned items out of her backpack and sat down on the grass. 'What do we have?'

'531124134211235133443243543451521133223432111313,' Hex rattled the numbers off, seeming to be completely undaunted by the amount of them. 'Have you got a square?'

'Yep.' She pushed the square across to Hex. 'You know how to use it?'

'Of course.' Hex seemed slightly offended.

'Ok. I'll read out the numbers, you can decode them and...' She looked about her for the closest person. 'Alex can write the letters down.'

'Me?' Alex said. 'What do I do?'

Holly gave him a piece of paper and a pencil. 'Just write the letters that Hex says in order across the top of the page. Ready?' Hex and Alex nodded.

'I'll say five at a time. Ok?' Holly looked at Hex.

'Yep. Go ahead.'

'53, 11, 24, 13, 42.'

'P, A, R, L, I.'

'11, 23, 51, 33, 44.'

'A, M, E, N, T.'

'32, 43, 54, 34, 51.'

'H, O, U, S, E.'

'52, 11, 33, 22, 34.'

'K, I, N, G, S.'

'Last four. 32, 11, 13, 13.'

'H, A, L, L.'

Alex finished scribbling down the letters and handed the paper to Hex. 'There you go.'

Paulo and Li leaned over, eyes shining with excitement. 'What does it say?' they said in unison. Amber sat on the park bench a metre or so away. Why didn't anyone believe her? She still had that bad feeling about Holly, she just needed proof.

'What have we got? P-A-R-L-I-A-M-E-N-T-H-O-U-S-E-K-I-N-G-S-H-A-L-L. Hmm. What words can you see?'

Hex studied the letters. 'House.' He circled the letters. 'That leaves us with P-A-R-L-I-A-M-E-N-T-'

'Hold on.' Holly ran her finger over the letters Hex had just mentioned. 'Parliament. Parliament House.'

'What have we got left then? K-I-N-G-S-H-A-L-L.' Hex frowned. 'King shall?'

Amber had wandered over to her friends. 'What about King's Hall. There isn't an apostrophe but it still fits.'

Hex grinned at Amber. 'Well done! You're good at this.' Amber gave him a small smile in return then retreated back to her seat. Hex sighed and turned his attention back to the paper. She was still very standoffish towards Holly and that was making her icy towards everyone else, especially him. _Oh well. Let Amber spoil her own holiday._

'So we must go to the Parliament House?' Paulo asked nervously.

'I'm not sure what that "King's Hall" bit has to do with it but it looks like we do have to go there.' She saw Paulo's nervous expression and laughed. 'Don't look so worried, Paulo. We don't have to break in. It's open to the public.'

'Good.'

Li gave a mischievous grin. 'Come on, Paulo. You're not scared of breaking the law are you?' Hex shot her a warning glance. Their missions didn't always allow them to remain law abiding citizens and he didn't want that getting leaked out.

'So we go to Parliament House. Where is it?'

'Canberra. Back on a plane we go!'


	8. Chapter 8

**Apologies if my description of Parliament House is a bit hazy but I'm going from my memory of my trip there two years ago and I don't have the best memory. **

After their plane touched down in Canberra airport, Alpha Force and Holly made their way outside the terminal to wait for their taxi.

'Where's Parliament House from here?' Li asked Holly.

'Just over there.' She pointed towards a flag flying on top of a flag pole on top of a hill in the distance. 'I came here for a school camp last year and we went to Parliament House for a day. It's about 15 minutes from here I think.' She tapped her foot and muttered, 'Where is that taxi? How long must it- Ah! Finally.'

A maxi cab pulled up and they chucked their bags inside before climbing in.

'Where to?' The driver turned around and let his glance roam around the interior of the cab, trying to decide who the leader of this particular group was. The blonde girl?

'Parliament House.' Yep. He was right.

'On our way.' He pulled out of the parking space and joined the heavy stream of traffic trying to get out of the airport grounds.

Sure enough, after fifteen minutes they arrived at Parliament House. After grabbing their backpacks and paying the driver, they made their way up the stairs and to the top of the gently sloping Capital Hill. Hordes of tourists and families with little kids swarmed towards the entrance.

'Is it always this busy?' Paulo looked about the crowded slopes with interest.

'You should see it in term time. All these groups of school kids, jostling each other, teachers yelling, security guards everywhere... Madhouse.' Holly shuddered.

After managing to push their way inside, they had to go through countless security measures such as having their bags x-rayed and getting a metal detector waved over them.

'That was freaky,' Li said after they had finally been cleared and allowed to move into the main foyer.

Holly had lost her carefree manner and was all business. 'Right. This place is huge so we have to start looking straight away.'

'Where?' Amber pounced on the opportunity to make Holly look dumb.

'I'll go get a map.' She disappeared and returned moments later with three maps. 'Paulo and Li can go up those stairs,' she pointed towards a staircase on her right, 'which lead to the first floor and search over that side. Amber and Alex can go up the left hand side and search the first floor as well while Hex and I go up to the second floor.' She grabbed Hex's arm and pulled him towards the lift. 'Meet back here in half an hour.'

Amber stared at Holly with a poisonous look than spun on her heel and went towards the stair case Holly had instructed her and Alex to take. 'Alex,' she said sharply.

'Coming.' He gave a worried glance in Paulo and Li's direction and they shot him sympathetic looks before scurrying up their own staircase.

Alex ran after Amber and caught up with her at the top of the staircase. 'What's the rush,' he asked her. 'I thought you didn't want to help Holly?'

Amber turned on him, eyes blazing. 'I'm not doing this for her,' she hissed. 'I don't give a flying leap whether we find this God damn treasure or not but He-' She stopped, closed her eyes and took several deep breathes. 'Let's just drop it, ok?' She started to walk away and Alex had no option but to follow her.

KK

Hex and Holly arrived at the second floor fairly quickly. As they stepped out of the lift Hex said, 'Do you have an idea of what we should be looking for?'

'Maybe.' She glanced over the map. Her eyes came to rest on a piece of information on the history of the building and she frowned. 'Wait a minute...' She walked towards a bench and sat down. 'Oh my God! How could I have been so stupid?!'

Shoving the map into her pocket, she grabbed Hex's hand and dragged him back towards the lift. A gaggle of tourists came flooding out and they had to shove their way through to get on the lift before it went back down again.

'Can you call the others,' Holly said in a strained voice. 'Stupid, stupid.'

Hex pulled his phone out and quickly called Alex and Paulo. What was going on?

KKKKK

Once they were all back in the foyer, Holly pulled her crumpled map out of her pocket and spread it out.

'Look. It says here that Parliament House was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 9th of May 1988.'

'So?' Amber asked. 'You dragged us all the way down here so you could share that little piece of history with us?'

'No. Don't you get it?' She looked at Alpha Force. 'Walter died fifty years ago. This place opened under twenty years ago. How could he have hidden a clue here if it was opened _after he died_?'

Realisation dawned on their faces.

'So the clue isn't here?' Alex said.

'No. But I think I know where it is.' Holly pulled a second brochure, equally as crumpled, out of her pocket. 'Old Parliament House. It was opened in 1927 and served as the home of Federal Parliament until Parliament House was opened in 1988.'

Hex peered at the brochure. 'Where is it?'

'Luckily for us it's just across the road. About five minutes. We can walk there.' Holly studied the map and her face lit up. 'I also know where the clue has been hidden.'

'Where?' Four eager faces turned towards her.

'This is a map of Old Parliament House. Look. The first room you walk into is-'

'King's Hall,' Hex finished. 'Well done.'

Holly grinned. 'So what are we waiting for? The day is slipping by.'

KKKK

Once inside King's Hall they hit a blank.

'Um. Any idea where this clue would be hidden?' Li glanced around the hall.

'What's the statue of?' Alex wandered across to the golden coloured statue standing in the hall.

Holly had her nose stuck into yet another brochure. 'That looks very promising,' she said. 'The statue is of King George. This hall is named after him so it would make sense that the clue could be there.'

The six of them stopped about ten metres away from the statue.

'Small, teensy, little question,' Li said. 'How exactly are we going to look for a clue without being too conspicuous?' She gestured towards the statue which was surrounded by an army of tourists. A guide stood at their head, talking animatedly and making all sorts of hand gestures.

'We wait until they're done,' Holly answered confidently.

In answer Li pointed towards a second group which were hovering in the wings, a second guide tapping her foot in impatience. Security here wasn't as tight as in Parliament House but there were still two guards with guns and serious expressions. You could almost read their minds; 'Put a toe, _just one toe_, out of line and I'll have you in a police car before you can blink!'

Li gave a nervous laugh and blinked at Holly. 'Not that I feel, you know, intimidated by those guards, but I'd feel a wee bit more comfy if we could be _very_ subtle.'

Holly nodded and looked at Hex. 'Can you cause a bit of chaos?'

KK

'What are you going to do?' Amber was crouched beside the building next to Hex. He had his palmtop open in front of him and had several wires trailing out of it and in through a window.

He grinned. 'Watch this.' With a flourish he pressed a key and a piercing alarm sounded through the building. Amber had no idea how, but Hex had managed to hack into the security footage and they could see the two guards race towards the stairs. The guides gasped and herded their groups outside the building, muttering to themselves and soothing their confused group members.

'And now,' Hex whispered,' we get to wreak havoc with the cameras.' He pressed another button and several cameras throughout the building flickered for a few moments before dieing. 'We are the only ones to witness Holly and Alex's great moment.' He pointed towards his palmtop's screen where they could see Holly and Alex at the statue, searching for their next clue.

Hex's smile disappeared as he saw the guards tearing down the corridor towards the King's Hall. He sent a text to Alex, _Get out_, before packing up his equipment and rushing to their rendezvous point. Amber followed him, hoping that they got out. _Ok_, she admitted to herself,_ I hope Alex, Li and Paulo get out._

'Here they come.' Hex sounded relived. It had been ten minutes since he and Amber had rushed from Old Parliament House and he had been getting really worried. 'Did you find it?'

Alex nodded and pointed at Holly. 'Holly's got it.'

With a happy smile, Holly sat next to Hex on the bench and unrolled a piece of paper.

'It's in Morse code,' she announced.

Alex's eyes lit up. 'Can I decode it?'

Hex chuckled at Alex's eagerness and handed over the paper; he knew that Alex was the best at Morse code and would have no trouble deciphering it. He glanced at Holly to see that she was frowning.

'Do you know what to do?' She seemed very reluctant to let Alex have a go. 'I know Morse code and could do it really quick.'

Alex smiled, not in the least bit offended. 'Same here.' With that he began to decode the clue. Holly frowned again but caught Hex looking at her funny and smiled instead.

'Sorry. It's just that most people don't know Morse code.'

'We're not most people,' Hex said softly.

She stared at him. 'What are you talking about?'

Before he could answer, Alex's head bobbed up.

'I got it. It's Cape Schanck Lighthouse.'

**I know I said more action a few chapters ago but it's coming. I promise it's coming.**


	9. Chapter 9

'Cape Schanck Lighthouse? Where's that?' Li asked.

'Mornington Peninsula, back in Victoria,' Holly answered.

Hex groaned. 'Another flight. Why couldn't he have made this clue the last clue and the last clue this one. That way we would have still been in Victoria and then-'

'Shhhhh!' Li clamped a hand over Hex's mouth. 'You're confusing me.'

'It is too late to do anything now. We should find a hotel and get a good night's sleep.' Paulo stood up and stretched. 'We can leave tomorrow.'

Hex looked at Amber. 'Can you call your uncle and ask him if he can get us tickets?'

Amber stared at him in astonishment. 'You're still going to carry on with this?'

'Yes. Is that a problem?' Hex normally had endless patience with Amber but her latest mood was really starting to get on his nerves.

'This is absolutely ridiculous. We're chasing this "treasure" that might not even exist up and down the coast, wasting our holidays.'

'If you think you're wasting your holidays, Amber, why don't you go home?' Holly's voice was icy. Amber didn't answer but merely glared at Holly. She shot a disbelieving glance at her friends but they were all either looking away or shaking their heads. Hex frowned at her and started to fiddle with his palmtop. Amber's eyes grew sad; her best friends, the four people who she would trust with her life and loved to bits, were siding with a girl they had only met a few days ago.

'I'm staying. Like I'd give you all the satisfaction of seeing me leave.' She got up and pulled her phone out of her pocket, finding her uncle's number in the contacts. As the phone dialled the number, Amber stalked off.

* * *

'Does anyone else feel really...drained?' Li staggered slightly as she shouldered her backpack.

'Yep.' Alex stifled a yawn and wandered towards the airport's exit.

Holly, however, was a bundle of energy, bouncing about their group as she phoned a maxi cab. 'The ride to the lighthouse is going to take about two, two and a half, hours.'

'That long?' Hex groaned. 'I'm going to have a sleep on the way there.'

Li giggled. 'Paulo's already started on his nap.' She pointed towards the Argentinean, who had his backpack under his head for a pillow and was curled up on the pavement. Li nudged Paulo with her toe. 'Ahem.'

Paulo opened his eyes and blinked sleepily at her. 'Go away, I'm sleeping.'

'No you're not.' Holly helped Li haul Paulo onto his feet. 'The cab just arrived. You have two hours to sleep and in a comfy cab as well.'

* * *

'Wake up, guys.' Holly's voice was overflowing with excitement. 'We're here.'

Hex forced his eyes open to see Holly peering at him. 'Wwwhhhhaaaaatttt...?'

'Come on lazy bones. Up and at 'em.'

On Hex's other side, Amber groggily raised her head from Hex's shoulder and blinked a few times. 'We here already? That did _not_ feel like two hours.'

'Can you tell the driver to take the scenic route?' Li called from the back.

Their driver laughed and shook his head. 'Sorry. We've arrived.'

With a lot of grumbling, Alpha Force grabbed their belongings and hauled themselves out of the cab. Once outside in the chill ocean air, they quickly woke up and regained their former enthusiasm.

'That's the lighthouse, right?' Alex jerked his head in the direction of a tall, white building with a red cap on top.

'That's it.' Holly sighed. 'Cape Schanck Lighthouse. Home of our next clue.' She started to stride purposefully towards the lighthouse. Alpha Force hurried after her.

As he caught up with Holly, Hex asked, 'Do you know where we have to look in the lighthouse to find the clue?'

'I think so.' Holly stopped so fast that Li cannoned into her back. 'See this line on our last clue.'

Hex peered at the paper. 'Yes...'

'"I'll show you the way."' She paused and looked at Hex. 'It must mean the actual light of the lighthouse.'

'Are we allowed inside it?' Alex's voice was slightly muffled as he pulled on his jumper.

'Yeah. They run tours that allow you to see all over the lighthouse.' Holly pulled another brochure out of her pocket. 'It was opened in 1859 and is one of the few lighthouses that still operate as they did in the 1800s.' After crumpling the brochure back into her pocket, Holly grinned at her friends. 'We're getting close. I can feel it.'

'You're just in time. The next tour leaves in a few minutes. Are you only interested in seeing the lighthouse and not the museum?' The lady was smiling, but her words didn't seem to know it.

'Just the lighthouse, thanks.' Holly jigged her foot impatiently as Amber paid.

'Over on your left. Zena will be conducting the tour for today.' She turned back to her computer and started to bang the keys.

'Thank you.'

The six teenagers wandered over to a lady with jet black hair and grey eyes who they assumed to be Zena. Unlike her colleague, Zena's smile was genuine.

'Hi. I'm Zena, though grumpy boots over there probably told you that already.'

'Hi. I'm Holly and this is Hex, Amber, Li, Alex and Paulo.'

'Nice to meet you. It's great that you six are taking an interest in history. Not many kids your age would bother coming here.' Zena started to climb the lighthouse stairs and she gestured for them to follow her. 'You're not all from Australia, are you?'

In the cab, they had decided to go with the same story that Holly had told their other cab driver. 'Only me. Alex is my cousin; he came over for a holiday and brought Hex with him. Amber, Li and Paulo are here for the holidays. We met at the park and I decided to show them around Melbourne. No trip would be complete without some history.'

'If only more teenagers had your attitudes towards history. My kids are around your ages and they don't want to hear anything about "boring old lighthouses".'

By this time they had reached the top of the lighthouse and could see the beacon, sitting proudly in the centre of the room. Holly nudged Hex and nodded slightly towards it. 'I'll talk to her while you have a look.' Holly took Zena's arm and gently steered her towards the window. 'What an amazing view!'

Li and Paulo stood by the window and gazed across the ocean while Amber studied the beacon. Hex and Alex crouched down and peered at one side of the platform that supported the beacon.

'What are we looking for?' Alex hissed.

'A clue.'

'Duh. I meant what it would look like. A piece of paper or an inscription? A symbol?' He ran his fingers across the stone. 'This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.'

Hex shuffled to his left and continued to look for the clue. He smiled as bits of Holly and Zena's conversation floated over.

'That's so cool. So, without this lighthouse, all those ships would have crashed into the peninsula?'

'Yeah. They're not needed so much now, what with all the new technology on board vessels, but some are still in action.' They moved further away and Hex could no longer hear them.

Amber suddenly appeared by his shoulder, making him jump. 'Found it yet?'

'Don't do that! No we haven't.'

'I have.'

'That's great Amber but we- You what?!' He spun around to face her and gripped Amber's shoulders. 'Repeat what you just said.'

'I have. Found the clue, I mean.'

'Where?'

'Around here. I'll show you if you let go of my shoulders.'

Hex let go and followed Amber around the beacon. 'Where?' he repeated.

'Right here.' She lay flat on the ground and gestured for Hex to copy her. 'Look.'

Hex looked and saw the inscription. It was set about 20 centimetres from the base of the platform, four lines carved into the stone. Hex fumbled for his phone and flicked it to the camera setting. He took five pictures, hoping that at least one would turn out, quickly read the inscription and popped back up, just as Zena spun around and announced that they had to finish up. Amber made that she was tying her shoelace and then stood up too.

Once they were back at reception, they said goodbye to Zena and thanked her for the tour. Once they had hurried outside, Hex moved away from the lighthouse and sat by the edge of the cliff.

'Amber found the clue. Do you guys want to know what it says?' A chorus of "yes" came promptly back at him. 'It took a few photos but if they don't work out I think I can remember what it says.' Hex turned his phone on and scrolled through the pictures, trying to find the best one. 'Ok.'

**Hehehehehe! The clue will be revealed in the next chapter. This story will probably only be a few more chapters. I have the plot worked out but have no idea what the ending will be. I have the majority of the next chapter written up so it should be up fairly quick.**


	10. Chapter 10

**The longitude and latitude are very rough. Please excuse this. I'm not actually sure that the place I describe actually exists in the national park but you can imagine it does. **

'"Forest dungeon; dragon's keep; a heart of stone; its secret deep." Have a look.' Hex passed his phone to Paulo, the person closest to him. Paulo glanced at the picture before passing it along. When the phone had made its way back to Hex, a defeated silence fell on the group for a few seconds. Holly gave a groan and slammed her fist into the grass.

'We're so close, I know it. How on earth are we going to figure that out?'

Amber couldn't help but smirk. 'Come on, Holly. I thought you were little Miss Treasure Hunter. Surely you know the answer.' Holly's shoulders slumped. She stood up and she walked further along the cliff. Hex watched Holly go before tuning angrily on Amber.

'What's your problem, Amber?' He glared at her. 'Since we met Holly all you've done is pick at her. You've been acting like a real spoilt brat.'

'I don't trust her. I told you that.' Amber folded her arms and looked haughtily at Hex, but inside she felt really upset.

'Doesn't mean you have to be so stuck-up!' Hex stood up and walked after Holly.

Amber felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. Li looked at her and seemed like she was going to say something but Amber got up and stalked off.

Li looked at Paulo and Alex. 'Well... Um. What do we do now?'

Alex looked to his left where Amber sat staring at the sea and then to his right where Hex was talking to Holly. 'We can try to work out the clue. That might ease the tension a bit.'

Paulo chucked Hex's phone towards Alex then shuffled to sit next to him. 'What have we got again?'

'"Forest dungeon; dragon's keep; a heart of stone; its secret deep." Not much to go on. Could be anything.'

Li flopped down beside Alex and plucked the phone out of his fingers. 'There must be something else.' She flicked back through the other four photos quickly, then scrolled through them again more slowly.

'Hold on.' Paulo peered over Li's shoulder and jabbed his finger at the screen. 'Go back one.'

Li obliged and passed the phone to Paulo. 'What is it?'

'I think I see something else there. Next to the inscription. We need Hex and his palmtop.'

* * *

'Amber didn't mean what she said and she I'm sure she didn't intend to be so horrible.' Hex looked at Holly.

'I'm sure she did. Ever since we met she's been so... bitchy towards me. Have I done something wrong?'

'No. Of course not. It's just Amber's personality. She's just used to getting her own way. She can dish out the same treatment to us as well. We just ignore her but it takes a bit to get used to.' Hex stared out at sea, watching a flock of seagulls diving for fish. Neither he nor Holly said anything for a few minutes.

'I have a question,' Holly said suddenly. 'How did you guys meet? You're all from different parts of the world, or so it seems judging by your accents and whatnot. Why are you all friends?'

'Well...' Hex was about to give Holly a very basic answer when Li slid to a stop next to them.

'Paulo found something on one of the photos that looks like it could be important. Can you use your palmtop to enhance it or something?'

'I'll see.'

They hurried back to Paulo and Alex. Amber had sauntered over and was sitting as far away from Holly and Hex as possible. She still couldn't believe he had sided with _her_.

'Paulo? Can you grab the cable in my backpack?' Hex grabbed his phone and palmtop and laid them out on the grass. Paulo passed him the cable and he quickly connected them. Within minutes, Hex swivelled the palmtop around and showed his friends the screen.

'Wow,' Li breathed. 'That's pretty cool.'

'It's a number- no two numbers.' Alex studied the screen. 'Looks like a longitude and latitude.'

'Exactly.' Holly grinned. '30 S and 145 E. That sounds like it would be around here somewhere.'

Hex took his palmtop back. After pressing some buttons he announced triumphantly, 'It's in Mornington Peninsula National Park.'

Holly clapped her hands. 'Well done. That's just up the road.' Her eyes shone with excitement. 'We're _so _close, I can feel it.'

'I can narrow it down to a kilometre or so. If we work out what the clue actually means it will get even easier.' Hex clicked away at his small computer, glancing at the screen every now and then. 'There we go. It's in the GPS and should be fairly easy to find.' He shut the palmtop down and turned to Holly. 'The first line of the clue reads "forest dungeon", right?'

Holly nodded. 'So what are we looking for?'

'Dungeons are underground, made of stone, damp, cold...'

'A cave?' Holly titled her head to the side.

'Exactly!' Hex grinned.

'So we're looking for a cave in that one kilometre or so that you narrowed it down to?' Alex decided that it was time for him to remind Hex and Holly that they were still there.

'Right. The cave is most likely to be in a rocky area so that could narrow it even more.'

'I think I know where it could be,' Holly said. 'A few years ago I went to this national park with my dad. We had wandered off the track a bit and came across this big area full of boulders. There was this crystal clear, deep pool in the middle that was perfect for swimming in. It's a really beautiful place and is in the area that you said it should be in, Hex.' Holly had started to look wistfully out to see, a sad smile on her face.

Hex reached out and squeezed her arm. 'We'll book a cab and go there straight away.'

Paulo looked shocked. 'Hex. Just in case you haven't noticed, it's lunchtime.' He glanced at his watch. 'No. Wait. Make that past lunch time.'

Hex was already ringing the cab company. 'We have a bit before the cab will get here; we can go get something from the lighthouse shop.'

Paulo, Li and Amber crossed the grass back to the lighthouse to buy lunch while Hex finished calling the cab company.

'We have about an hour or so before it gets here. Then we can get back on the trail!'

* * *

'This is where our treasure is?' Alex sounded doubtful. 'All I see is rock.'

'Perhaps it is hidden,' Paulo suggested.

'Perhaps.' Li scaled up a seemingly unblemished boulder, her strong fingers finding impossibly small cracks.

Holly followed Li with her eyes, an envious look on her face. 'How does she do that?' she muttered.

Amber, delighted to have a chance to make Holly feel inferior, followed Li up. The two girls stood up on top of the rock and scanned the surrounding area.

'What's the clue again?' Li called down.

'Hang on.' Hex rummaged in his backpack and finally drew out his phone. '"Forest dungeon; dragon's keep; a heart of stone; its secret deep." I think we're looking for a cave.'

'I found something on the other side of this rock that looks like a carving. Come around and look.'

Alex, Paulo, Hex and Holly scrambled around the side of the boulder to join Li and Amber who had climbed down.

'Good job, Li,' Paulo praised as the six of them faced a dragon carved into the rock face. It was about three feet high and two feet wide, a hideous looking beast with huge fangs and talons. Its mouth was open in a silent roar and two beady eyes glared down at them. Despite the fact that it wasn't the prettiest carving on earth, someone had done a remarkable job.

'Not too subtle, are they?' Alex remarked.

'That's good. For our sakes I mean.' Hex studied the carving and frowned. 'I bet that there's a concealed latch we have to press. It'll open the door.' He started to feel all over the carving. Holly shrugged and joined him. After a few seconds they heard an audible _click_. Hex grabbed Holly's arm and froze.

'What did you touch?' he asked urgently.

'Um.' Holly tapped her bottom lip as she concentrated. 'Maybe the left eye?'

Letting go of Holly's arm Hex touched the right eye. The rock seemed to sigh as the dragon slid sideways, opening up a dark passage leading deep into the heart of the rock. The six of them all peered inside.

'Hex and I can go,' Holly announced.

Amber hurriedly stepped forward. 'Oh no. We're all coming.'

Holly smirked. 'That's not necessary. We only need two people.'

'Why Hex and you then?' Amber wasn't backing down. 'What if Alex goes instead of you?'

Holy shook her head. 'No. I'm going.'

'Why is it crucial that _you_ go?' Amber glared at Holly.

'Because we have two parties here. Party one is me. Party two the rest of you. If two people of the same party go down then they could make off with the treasure or clue. Whatever's down there.' She saw Amber open her mouth again and guessed what she was going to say. 'Hex has to come in case there is a clue there.'

'I'm pretty sure you can decipher it all by yourself. If you can't, Hex can figure it out up here.'

'What if it leads deeper into the cave?'

'We can all go in!' Amber was starting to sound a bit hysterical.

Li stepped forward and put a restraining arm hand on Amber's arm. 'She's right, Amber.' Amber glared at Li. Alex and Paulo shifted uncomfortably in the background.

Hex didn't seem to have noticed the exchange between Holly and Amber; he had been peering at the carving with interest. 'No one touch this. There's probably a lever that can make the door slide across again.'

Holly gave Amber a triumphant look. 'Come on, Hex.' She skipped towards him and pushed him gently towards the entrance. They were quickly swallowed by darkness as their torch beams got further away from the entrance. Amber wrenched her arm free.

'Thanks for siding with me,' she said sarcastically. Paulo tapped Alex's arm and they scurried around the boulder.

'What Holly said made sense.'

'Doesn't mean it was right.'

'Yes it does.'

They stared at each other, Li calmly and Amber furiously.

'I just don't think it was a good idea.'

Li made an exasperated sound. 'Amber. What are they going to do down there? Just because you're jealous-'

'Jealous?!' Amber nearly shrieked. She lowered her voice and pitch. 'Jealous? Why would I be jealous?'

'Oh come off it. You and Hex are really close. Any one can see that. Since Holly showed up she and Hex have been spending nearly all their time together. That's gotta bug you just a bit.'

Li looked at Amber but her eyes were staring at the ground. 'Ok. Fine. You're right. I am a bit miffed that she can just waltz in here and... But there's something else about her that, I don't know, doesn't feel right. I don't trust her.'

'Whew. At least I'm not the only one.'

Amber looked at Li in surprise. 'You don't trust her too?'

'Hell yeah. That's why we're going to sneak down there and find out what's going on.'


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone! Hope you're all enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Only one chapter after this one I think which may take a little while as I'm still tossing around ideas for the actual ending. Twinge of some romance towards the middle/end of this chapter.**

Their torch beams played across the darkness, illuminating a spacious cave with a small pool of water in the centre. A narrow ledge ran above their heads and disappeared into a tunnel of rock. Hex had started to feel a tiny bit claustrophobic in the narrow tunnel, but since they had emerged into the cave he had been feeling a lot better.

'It must be here somewhere,' Holly said. Her voice echoed around the cave, the only sound apart from a slow dripping as water trickled down a rock and plopped into the pool.

'But where.' Hex started across the cave, Holly following close behind him. 'The clue.' He pulled his backpack off his back and found the clue. 'The first two parts we found; "forest dungeon" is the cave and "dragon's keep" is the dragon carving on the door. So we must be looking for a "heart of stone".'

Holly swept her torch beam across the cave. The light illuminated a small sculpture in the far corner of the cave and she swivelled the beam back onto it. 'That's it,' she whispered.

The two of them hurried across to the small heart. Sure enough, set into the rock was a key. Holly gasped and carefully pulled it out. It came easily and she held it in the palm of her hand.

'This is it,' Holly whispered. 'I've found it.' She stopped suddenly, as though remembering something. 'I'm so sorry, Hex.'

'What do you mean?' Hex was confused. 'What's wrong?'

Holly looked upset as she turned to face Hex. 'I don't want to do this, but I have to. I have to prove to my father that I can get this treasure, by myself, without any help, even though I'm a girl.' Her voice was tinged with bitterness. 'I'm so sorry.'

Hex took a step backwards, but Holly grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. 'Ha ha, Holly. Very funny. We should be getting back-' He cut off abruptly as Holly kissed him on the lips. He quickly pulled away. 'What the hell?'

'I really like you, Hex. A lot. I hate to do this.' Holly took her backpack off and rummaged inside it.

Hex took another step away and felt the cool stone against his back. What was going on? His eyes widened as Holly turned towards him again, a gun held in one shaking hand. 'Holly. Think about this for a second.'

'I have, Hex. Believe me. I've lost so much sleep over this. When I first met you and the others, I thought I'd be able to do this easily. No hassles, no fuss. That's changed though. While I could shoot Amber easily enough, she's been nothing but a pain in the arse, I couldn't do that to Li, Alex, Paulo or you. Especially you, Hex.' She stepped towards him. 'Believe me.'

'So why are you holding a gun?' Hex really wished that he had more room to back away. Holly was now only a metre away from him and getting closer.

'It's only here to make sure you do as you're told.' She flung some rope at him. 'Tie your feet together.' She licked her lips nervously and pointed the gun at him. 'Hurry up.'

Hex sat down and quickly knotted the rope around his ankles.

Holly tested them and nodded. 'Ok.' She set the gun down and pulled more rope from her bag. 'Don't try anything stupid. Even without a gun, I can still cause pain. Move away from the wall and put your hands together behind your back.' Hex obliged, wondering if his friends were on their way down. He hoped they weren't; Amber especially was in serious danger if she came down now.

Holly had finished tying his hands together and she sat back, picking up a piece of fabric. 'Just in case you decided to yell for help. This should allow me more time to get out of here.' She went to tie the fabric across Hex's mouth and he glared at her. A hurt look crossed her face. 'Don't look at me like that. I have to do this.'

'No you don't. You can have the bloody treasure.' He shook his head. 'I should have listened to Amber.'

Holly frowned. 'Listened to Amber about what?'

'She told me that she didn't trust you. I didn't believe her but I should have.'

'Talk is cheap, Hex. I have to go.' She tied the gag across his mouth and stood up. Holly started to walk away then stopped and retraced her steps. 'I never did have a chance with you, did I?'

Hex's eyebrows shot up. She had to be a psycho. No one tied you up and gagged you then asked whether they could have been more then friends.

'I know you can't talk. Just nod or shake your head.'

Hex shook his head.

'Before all this?'

Again, Hex shook his head.

'It's her, isn't it?'

Hex shrugged his shoulders and inclined his head, hoping she would understand his "what do you mean" gesture.

'You know exactly who I'm talking about.'

Hex shook his head.

'Amber.' She paused. 'I think that's why she was so horrible to me. 'Cause I was spending loads of time with you, we have heaps in common and we got along really well.'

Hex stayed still.

'Ignore me all you want. I'm a treasure hunter, Hex. I'm taught to recognise microscopic clues that not many other people would see. That has passed on to people as well, meaning I can tell things about people just by looking at them and seeing how they react with others.' Holly paused for a breath and was about to start her monologue again when she seemed to realise what she was doing. 'Why am I standing here still? I gotta go.' With that, Holly grabbed her bag, swung it onto her back and scurried towards the other side of the cave. Five minutes later she had climbed up the rock face and was disappearing into the rock tunnel. Hex leant back against the rock and waited for his friends to twig that something was wrong.

* * *

'Hex? Holly?' Li crept down the stone stairs carefully. 'Hello?'

'Something's wrong,' Amber murmured as the reached the end of the flight of stairs.

'What are you talking about?' Li dismissed Amber's statement with a wave of her hand. 'Their probably just out of ear-'

'Hex!' Amber leapt down the last two stairs in one bound before rushing across the cave. Li looked to where she was headed before bounding after her.

'What the hell happened to you?' Li asked as she reached her two friends.

Hex grunted and wriggled, trying to show her his bound ankles and wrists.

'Holly,' Amber growled as she struggled to untie Hex's gag. 'Jeez this is tied tight.' When it finally came loose she sat back, panting slightly.

Hex gulped and wet his lips. 'Thanks. I couldn't really breathe with that thing on.'

'Are you alright?' Li studied Hex critically.

'I will be once I get these ropes off.'

'I'll go get Alex. He'll have to cut you free.' Li hurried across the cave and up the stairs again.

Hex shuffled backwards until he could lean against the wall. 'This is not the most comfortable of positions.'

'Well, Hex. Here's you proof,' Amber said.

'Proof? Oh, you mean with Holly not being trustworthy and everything? Yeah, yeah. Don't have to rub it in.' He looked so defeated that Amber decided to let it rest. For the moment.

'You let her tie you up?' Amber couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice. 'Beguiled by her charm and charisma?'

'She has a gun,' Hex replied bluntly.

'Oh.' Amber couldn't think of anything else to say after that comment.

'Holly said that she was really sorry but she had to prove to her dad that she could do this by herself. She didn't want to shoot me.'

'So that's why she had a gun.'

'That's what I said. Her plan when she first met us was to shoot us all, but she said that she couldn't do that now. Well. You, yes. Me, no.'

'What's that mean?' Amber frowned.

'You've been a pain in the arse apparently.'

'And you haven't?'

Hex coughed. 'No. Quite the opposite in fact.'

Amber stared at him for a few seconds. 'Oh...my...God. She's got the hots for you!'

'Can you blame her?' Hex grinned.

'I'm not even going to answer that.' Amber rolled her eyes. 'And do you like her? In that way I mean?'

'I'm not even keen on her as a friend after this.' He jerked his arms and legs. 'Besides. I like someone else,' he added quietly. He mentally kicked himself. _Idiot! _his brain screamed.

'Really?' Amber raised one eyebrow. 'Who?'

'Like I'd tell you!' Hex said.

Amber moved closer to him. 'You're forgetting who's tied up here, Hex.'

Her would-be torture techniques were interrupted as Alex, Paulo and Li burst into the cave.

'So sorry,' Li called. 'These two adventurers decided to go for a little walk and I had to look _all_ over for them.'

'Come on, Li. It wasn't that far,' Alex replied. 'Hmmm. What have you got yourself into this time, Hex?'

'Holly's handiwork I gather,' Paulo crouched down beside Hex. 'What did she do? Hold you at gun point.'

Hex looked at him pointedly. 'Yep.'

Paulo, Alex and Li blinked at him.

'I can explain later,' he said. 'Can you get rid of these ropes?'

Alex cut the ropes with his knife and soon Hex was standing and rubbing his wrists and ankles.

'Right. I told Holly she could have all the treasure, that we didn't care. But I didn't mean it. We worked this out as much as she did and we're going to get it back.' Hex glared stubbornly at a rock.

'I hate to be a party pooper,' Li said hesitantly, 'but we have no idea where Holly is.'

Hex grinned like a maniac, making Li take an involuntary step backwards. 'That's where you're wrong, Li.' He pulled out his palmtop and was about to show her what he meant when a loud grinding sound interrupted them.

'What was that?' Paulo said when it finally stopped.

Hex ground his teeth and ran towards the stairs. 'I think I know what that was and who did it.'

His four friends followed close on his heels. Sure enough, the stone door way had slid back across, blocking their exit route.

'Holly!' Hex yelled. 'For Christ's sake, open the bloody door!' He hammered his hand against the stone. 'Holly!'

'She's not going to open it,' Alex said quietly.

'Great!' Li sounded on the verge of tears. 'This is _so _fantastic! Now we not only have no idea where Holly's going, but we can't even get out.'

'Don't worry. I can fix both problems,' Hex reassured her. He fished his palmtop out of his belt pouch again and powered it up. 'Look.'

Li leaned closer to Hex and peered at the screen. 'Is that the tracking system thingy?'

'An even better version. Has a bigger range to a couple of hundred kilometres and can register the tracer even when it's underground or in a few metres of water.'

'Is that us?' Amber asked pointing to a cluster of five dots in the screen's centre.'

'Yep.' He zoomed out. 'And that's Holly,' Hex added as a lone dot appeared a short way from their cluster.

'She's off,' Paulo said. The dot had started to move slowly away. 'Must be on foot.'

'That gives us a bit of time,' Hex said as he packed up his palmtop and grabbed his bag. 'I know another way out.'

'Hold on a minute,' Amber said, holding up her hand. 'I have just one question. Make that two. First of all, does anyone else think it's strange that Holly's wearing a tracer?' Three heads turned towards her. 'And secondly, this one's for you, Hex, why is she wearing a tracer?'

'You know when you told me that you didn't trust her?' Hex said to Amber.

'No, Hex, I don't believe I do,' Amber answered sarcastically.

'Well I didn't exactly not take any notice of that warning. When she went all funny after Alex wanted to decode the Morse code clue we got when we were in Canberra, I decided she needed to be kept an eye on. When we were at the motel, I fitted a tracer in her belt when she was in the bathroom.'

There was a short silence which Paulo broke. 'That was smart,' he said slowly.

'So we can know where she is?' Amber asked.

'Yep.'

'What about our second problem? The "getting out of the cave" problem?' Amber said.

'Holly got out by climbing that rock face and walking along that tunnel. If Li goes up there, she can open the door and let us out.' Hex had barely finished before Li let out a whoop, ran across to the rock and started to free climb up it.

Alex, Paulo, Amber and Hex watched her progress until she disappeared down the tunnel.

'I have another question,' Amber said suddenly.

'Really?' Hex didn't sound interested.

'If Holly has never been here before, how did she know about the second exit/entrance via the rock tunnel?'

'I don't think she did know about it until she climbed up there and found it.' Hex paused as a shiver ran down his spine. 'Her original plan was to shoot all of us, right? So, we'd have come in here to get the key, found it, she'd escort me back outside at gun point then shoot us all. Lucky she found the other exit, huh?'

Amber shook her head. 'Is she out of her freaking mind? That is not normal for someone her age, or anyone at all for that matter. What a loony!'

Amber's tirade was interrupted by Li opening the stone door and poking her head around the corner.

'What are you lazy louts doing sitting around and chatting? We have a treasure to reclaim!'


	12. Chapter 12

**My mistake. There should be one other chapter after this. Could be fairly long and might take a bit for an update to appear. Doing the best I can at coming up with an ending; the entire plot for the last chapter is worked out except for the final bit. If any one has any ideas or anything they want me to include, speak up and I'll see what I can do. Any help much appreciated. **

'Is any one else sick of paying people to drive us around?' Paulo wondered aloud, gazing eagerly at a battered car. 'I'm so desperate that I'll drive anything.' No one payed him any attention.

'Bummer!' Amber exclaimed as she caught sight of Holly's' tracker speeding away on Hex's palmtop screen. 'She must be in a cab.'

'Our cab.' Li pointed to the now empty parking lot. 'That little-'

'No problem!' Paulo grabbed Li and dragged her towards the station wagon. 'Hop in.'

'Any excuse,' Alex smiled as he climbed into the backseat beside Amber. Hex climbed in after him and Paulo leapt into the driver's seat.

'Now,' he said solemnly. 'I don't exactly have my licence so we mustn't draw attention to ourselves.'

'Put your foot down, Paulo,' Amber called from the backseat. 'It's night time.'

Paulo started the car and they roared out of the parking lot.

'Hmm.' Hex tapped his chin. 'Stealing a car. I wonder how many years we'll get for this.'

Amber leant across Alex and whacked Hex's shoulder. 'Shut up. Stealing is such a harsh word for it... I prefer borrowing.'

'Indefinitely?' Hex asked.

There was a slight pause. 'Maybe.'

Their conversation was interrupted when Li let out a sharp squawk from the front seat.

'That was a tree!' She squinted out of the window into the dim twilight.

'The steering is buggered,' Paulo grumbled as he tried to manoeuvre the old car along the road.

'Well unbugger it!'

'I can't while I'm driving, Li.'

'Calm down you two,' Amber said. 'I don't know why you're so worried, Li. Alex isn't.'

Li swivelled her head around to look behind her. She snorted with laughter as she saw Alex. 'I thought it was Paulo who could sleep anywhere.'

Hex nudged Alex with his elbow. 'Wake up. You're being laughed at.'

Alex shook his head and rubbed his eyes. 'What...?' He tilted his head and stared quizzically at Li and Amber who were clutching their sides and trying to stifle their giggles. 'Huh?'

'They've got something wrong with them,' Hex explained. 'You sleeping in this bouncing tin of doom appears to be hilarious.'

'Did you just refer to this fabulous piece of machinery as a "bouncing tin of doom"?' Paulo glared at Hex in the rear view mirror. 'This is a sleek, high performance vehicle.'

The car shuddered and Hex made a grab for his palmtop as it jolted out of his lap. 'What are you on?'

As Hex checked his palmtop to make sure it was ok, he noticed that Holly's dot had stopped. 'Prepare to stop,' he announced. 'Holly's pulled up just to the left of us.'

'I can't see any turn off.' Amber frowned and stuck her head closer to her window. 'Where should it be?'

'Right... here.' Hex pointed towards Amber's window as their five dots drew level with Holly's.

The car zipped by.

'Paulo?' Li said. 'We were meant to turn off back there.'

'I couldn't see any entrance,' Paulo answered gripping the steering wheel.

'So how did Holly- Argh!' Li let out a surprised yell as Paulo suddenly spun the wheel, turning the car quickly. The station wagon bounced off the road and thumped into a shallow ditch before roaring forward again. They jolted along for about 20 metres until Paulo finally brought the car to a standstill. Alpha Force sat in a stunned silence while smoke started to billow from under the bonnet.

'Here we are!' Paulo said cheerfully before opening his door. The door fell off its hinges and crashed to the ground. 'Mind your doors, everyone.'

They scrambled out from the car and watched the smoke.

'You destroyed it,' Amber said bluntly.

'It was already destroyed before we took it. Disaster waiting to happen.' Hex strode away from the wrecked vehicle and stopped by the tree line. 'I wonder where she got to.' He looked back at his four friends standing in the small clearing. A look of horror spread across his face. 'Cancel out that question. Run.'

Amber rolled her eyes. 'Very funny. Alex needs to give you some acting lessons. You're pathetic.' The smirk was wiped off her face as a bullet thudded into a tree just a metre from where she stood. Amber spun around and her eyes widened. 'Holly!'

Holly stood, her feet shoulder-width apart, on the other side of the clearing. She was glaring furiously at Amber. 'What are you lot doing here?'

No one bothered answering her; they bolted towards Hex and the safety of the trees. Holly let out a furious yell and took off after them.

'I thought that we were meant to be getting the key off her,' Amber panted. 'Not running for our lives.'

'Slight change in plan,' Hex answered. 'But don't worry. We'll still get it.'

They reached a pile of boulders set towards the back of a second, smaller clearing. Hex sprinted towards it and his four friends followed quickly. Once they were all seated behind it, Hex said, 'Wait here. I've got a plan.' He paused before adding, 'If it goes wrong, just get out of here as fast as you can.' Hex stood up and walked into the clearing, just as Holly broke from the trees.

'Hi, Holly,' Hex said casually, as though he'd just bumped into her at the store. 'How're you going?'

Holly's expression had softened slightly but she was still holding onto the gun. 'What do you want? How did you get out of the cave?'

'Never mind.' Hex moved closer to Holly, a small smile on his face. 'I wanted to ask you something.'

'Where are the others?' Holly asked suspiciously, straining to see behind Hex.

'Gone. I told them to run ahead.' He took another step closer to Holly until he was only a metre away from her. 'I'm on your side, Holly. I want to help you.'

'What about when we were back in the cave? What you said-'

'Doesn't matter. I didn't mean it. I really like you too, Holly. It's just that I didn't realise it until you kissed me. I wasn't sure how to say it and then you tied me up.' It sounded lame to Hex, but Holly smiled and blushed, dropping the hand that was holding the gun.

Behind the rock, four pairs of eyebrows shot skyward.

'She _kissed _him?' Amber muttered angrily.

'I want to help you, Holly. I don't care about getting the treasure or about getting recognition for finding it. If it's that important for your dad to just see you as the sole finder, so be it.' Hex was now only 60 centimetres away from Holly. He had to judge this just right. 'What do you say?'

Holly shuffled closer and was about to kiss Hex when he gave a yell and pushed her backwards, landing on top of her. He reached towards her neck and pulled the piece of leather with the key attached to it over her head.

After slipping it over his own head, Hex leaned closer to Holly's ear and whispered, 'By the way. What you said in the cave, just before you left... You were right.' He jumped up and took off into the forest, leaving Holly scrabbling for her gun.

'I'll get you for this!' she shrieked.

Hex crashed through the undergrowth, feeling branches lash at his arms and legs. The darkness had been growing and shapes were now a hazy shadow, barely recognisable. When a shadowy figure cannoned into his side, knocking him to the ground, he reacted instinctively, spinning around and pinning the person to the ground.

'Holly-' He stopped abruptly as he recognised the person he was sitting on. 'Oops. Sorry, Amber.' He stood up and helped Amber to her feet.

'You better be,' she grumbled, rubbing her shoulder. 'It's not like I hit you on purpose; I tripped over a bloody log!' The crack of a bullet being fired split the still air and made Amber shut up.

Hex grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards. 'Less talk, more run.'

'Where are the others,' Amber asked as they sprinted through the bush.

'No idea. Hope they're ok.' Hex shot desperate glances around him. 'Where are we? This bush all looks the same.'

They had hit a wildlife track and found it easier to run. Hex was about to tell Amber to stop for a minute when he tripped and fell flat on his face. Amber landed next to him. Before they could get up, a voice called, 'Hex? Amber? There's a trip wire across the path.'

'Thanks for that, Li,' Amber growled as she pushed herself up. 'Could have told us about ten seconds ago. Is Alex and Paulo with you?'

'Yep.' Alex's pale face peered down at her, while Paulo emerged from the other side of the track. 'Hi.'

'You can run, but you can't hide!' Holly's yell easily reached their ears and spooked the five teenagers into running again.

'She's gone mad!' Li wailed.

'Shut up and keep running.' Hex cast an anxious glance behind him before slowly to a jog, then a stop. 'Hang on.' His friends slowed as well before stopping next to Hex.

'What?' Alex asked.

'She's stopped running.'

'It's so quiet,' whispered Li. 'Too quiet.'

Paulo looked around him before turning to Hex with a panicky expression on his face. 'Where's Amber?'

* * *

Amber pushed herself up off the ground. She had been so comfortable there and could have easily fallen asleep, but Holly's yell had reminded her just what sort of trouble they were in. Hex rushed past her, closely followed by Li and Alex. Paulo stumbled towards her and she quickly stepped backwards. The thought flashed through her mind just a second before she fell. The trip wire. Amber staggered backwards, straight into Holly.

'Well, well, well,' Holly cackled. 'Thank you very much. Just what I needed.' Amber had stood, frozen against a tree with Holly's gun pressed against her temple, cursing herself for being so careless.

* * *

'No one panic. She might have hidden somewhere.' Li's words didn't carry the sense of reassurance that she had hoped.

'Holly's got her. I know it.' Hex frowned, chewing his lip in anxiety. 'God knows what's going to happen to her.' His phone vibrated in his pocket and he hooked it out.

'Is that from who I think it's from,' Alex said.

'Yep.' Hex read the text message and swore. 'Listen to this. _You have something that I want and I have something you want. Go to the first clearing. We'll be waiting there._'

'She's got Amber,' Paulo said sadly.

'And I've got the key.' Hex opened his palmtop and brought up the tracker screen. 'We can use the tracers to get back to the clearing. We better hurry. There's no telling what Holly might do if we don't.'

* * *

Amber sat with her back against a tree. Holly hovered near her, a few metres away, the gun in her hand.

'You need to relax a bit,' Amber said calmly. 'How does a cruise in the Caribbean sound?'

'Shut your mouth!' Holly swung around, the gun pointed at Amber, an angry glint in her blue eyes.

'You wouldn't shoot me,' Amber smirked. 'You couldn't.'

'Wanna bet?' Holly smiled sadistically, before squeezing the trigger. The bullet ripped into the ground just 30 centimetres from Amber. Amber let out a thin scream as Holly pointed the gun at her again. 'I hate you so much. If I didn't need you to get that key, you'd have been dead the moment I found you.'

'Why do you hate me? What have I done to you? Sure, I didn't trust you but does that warrant this?' Amber's voice sounded tiny and afraid.

Before Holly could answer, Hex, Li, Alex and Paulo appeared across the clearing. They caught sight of Amber, apparently unhurt, and let out sighs of relief.

'Are you ok?' Li called to Amber.

Amber nodded.

Hex stepped forward. 'Ok, Holly. This is getting ridiculous. You can have the key.'

Amber's shoulders slumped. 'Don't give her-'

'SHUT UP!' Holly pointed the gun at Amber for a few seconds before turning back to Hex.

Hex smiled at Amber and said quietly, 'It's ok. You're more important than any stupid treasure.' He took the key and lobbed it into the bushes. Holly gave a cry or triumph and scampered off in the direction that Hex had thrown it.

Amber got up and hurried over to her friends. 'Let's get out of here before she comes back and kills us all.'

'How? Paulo totalled the car.' Li glanced at the wreckage.

'I don't think Holly was driven here,' Alex said, pointing towards a cab parked in the cover of some bushes.

'She stole a car as well? That's just the icing on the cake. How many offences has she committed now?' Amber wrinkled her nose. 'What a nut case.'

Paulo was already in the cab, starting the car up. 'Hurry up.'

His four friends joined him and within minutes they were out on the road, having found the exit to the park and avoided damaging a second vehicle.

'Head back towards the national park, Paulo,' Hex said from the backseat.

'Why?'

Hex grinned and pulled a key out of his pocket. 'Because we have a treasure to find. I think I know where it is.'

Alex, Li, Amber and Paulo stared at him in astonishment.

'What key did you throw, if that's the treasure key?' Paulo asked.

'My house key. I hope my mum's in when I get home, since I have no way of letting myself back in now.'

Amber whacked Hex on the shoulder. 'Idiot. Here I am thinking that my safety was more important than some "stupid treasure", when in reality you didn't have to give anything up at all.'

'My house key,' Hex repeated.

'Big sacrifice,' Amber shot back.

Hex lost his smile and stared sombrely at his four friends. 'I meant what I said though. And it's not just your safety, Amber. All of our lives are worth more than this treasure. Our safety is paramount; no one needs to be put in any danger. Agreed?'

'Agreed,' the others said in unison.

'So where exactly do you think this treasure is Hex?' Alex said after a slight pause.

'All will be revealed, when we get back to the cave.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Yet another change of plan. I know I keep saying/typing this but there will be one more chapter. I didn't think it would carry on for this amount of time but I didn't want a humungous, long chapter. Also, this way you all don't have to wait while I get some ideas for the ending.**

Alpha Force stood by the heart statue and stared at it expectantly.

Amber titled her head and blinked. 'What should we be seeing?'

'With our last clue,' Hex said, 'every line had something to look for. We found all of them: "forest dungeon"- the cave, "dragon's keep"- the entrance to the cave, "a heart of stone"- this statue... There's just one line left.'

'What's that?' Li asked.

'"It's secret deep."' Hex looked at his four friends and smiled. 'I think there's something hidden in the rock that will lead us to the treasure.'

Hex walked towards the statue and pressed his hand into the space where Holly had taken out the key. 'I can feel something. Like a key hole.' He pulled the key from his pocket and carefully pushed it into the statue before turning it. Nothing happened.

'Well there goes that idea,' Amber sighed.

'No way. I'm not-' Hex cut off as the cave began to shake, churning the water and bringing down pieces off rock. 'Get to the back!'

Alex, Paulo and Li tottered as fast as possible to the far corner of the cave, but Amber took one step on the now water-slick rock and fell heavily, hitting her head. Her vision swam and she shook her head to try and clear it. It helped a little bit, but she felt light-headed and couldn't get up. Biting her lip, Amber pushed herself up onto her elbows and tried to ignore the black edge around her vision.

Hex had been trying to pull the key out of the statue and hadn't noticed Amber's difficulties. When he finally managed to free the key, he spun around and saw Amber lying on the floor. He ran towards her and hauled her to her feet. 'Come on, Amber,' he hollered. 'No time for a nap.'

Amber staggered and leant against Hex for support. They slowly made their way across the cave, but before they could reach the others, the cave gave an even bigger shudder and the floor started to crack beneath their feet. Hex threw Amber to the ground and covered her with his body. 'Get down!' he yelled to his other friends. The cave gave one more, violent shake before settling back down. For a minute or so after the last rock fell, Alpha Force lay quietly, hoping not to set it off again.

'Is it done?' Alex whispered.

'I think so.' Paulo raised his head and glanced nervously about him. 'I hope so.'

'Hex.' Amber's voice was muffled. 'Can you get off me?'

Hex rolled off Amber and carefully stood up, hoping the cave wasn't going to start jumping about again. 'I think it's ok.'

No sooner had he spoke then rocks started to tumble down again. This time the slide lasted only seconds and it was over before Alpha Force had time to throw themselves on the ground.

Through the dust, Hex grinned. 'It's here!' he yelled, not bothering about being quiet. 'The entrance is here!'

Amber, Alex, Li and Paulo rushed over and grinned alongside Hex.

'Awesome,' Li breathed.

'It must have been hidden under that last pile of rocks.' Alex looked around him, suddenly noticing that the water had started to ripple again.

'What a fantastic piece of engineering,' Paulo exclaimed.

'Ah... Guys?' Alex swallowed and moved towards the entrance. 'I don't mean to alarm you or anything, but the cave's starting to move again.'

Sure enough, the rock under their feet was shifting once again.

'Get in!' Hex shouted, pulling Alex through after him. Paulo, Li and Amber were hot on their heels. Just as they got inside, a second lot of boulders tumbled down, crashing into the entrance and sealing it off.

They were plunged into darkness as the rocks completely covered the entrance to the second cave, leaving them trapped.

'At least we don't have to worry about Holly following us now,' Li said.

'She's the least of our problems now,' Alex said. 'Has anyone got a torch?'

'I do,' Li, Hex and Paulo said together. Three torch beams flicked on and played about the darkness. Slowly, the five teenagers climbed to their feet and started to explore the cave.

'There's a gap over here,' Paulo called a few minutes later. 'It's only small but we should be able to fit.' He waited for his friends to join him before getting down on his stomach and wriggling into the gap. 'I'll go first. If I can get through, everyone can.'

It was a very tense couple of minutes before they heard Paulo's voice again.

'It's alright,' he called. 'You should all fit. The tunnel is only short but it gets very thin at the end here.' Light shone down the tunnel. 'I'll shine the torch for whoever is coming through next.'

Li passed her torch to Alex and stepped forward. 'That would be me.' Because of her slight build, Li was through much quicker than Paulo. Before too long, Alex was squirming down the tunnel. Amber and Hex stood in the first cave. Hex had been fidgeting and looking really nervous, though he was trying to hide it.

Amber put her hand on his arm. 'Are you ok?'

Hex nodded. 'Yeah, yeah. I'm fine.'

'Do you want to go now or after me?' Amber asked.

'I'll go after you.'

Amber gave him a reassuring smile before sliding into the tunnel.

Hex took several deep breathes and tried to calm down. _This is stupid,_ he scolded himself. _What could happen? You'll be fine. _

'Ok, Hex.' Amber's voice sounded distant.

Hex groaned, turned off his torch and lay down in front of the hole. He felt sick and tried to push his claustrophobia to the back of his mind. 'Calm down. It's ok. Paulo's shining his torch. I can see. I'll be fine.' With his teeth clenched, Hex pushed his head and shoulders into the hole. For a few, panicky seconds he thought he was stuck. His memory made the situation worse by flashing back to one of Alpha Force's mission in Alaska, when he got trapped in an underground cave and almost drowned. Panic gripped Hex's heart and he pushed himself forward frantically, squeezing his eyes shut.

'Hex? It's ok. You're out.' Li smiled gently at him as Hex opened first one eye, then the second.

'Please tell me we don't have to go back through there,' he said hoarsely.

'Doesn't seem like it. Alex found some stairs.' Li gestured across the small cavern where Alex, Paulo and Amber were shining the torches down a moss covered flight of stairs.

'Great,' Hex replied unenthusiastically. 'I hope this treasure is worth it.'

'Even if it turns out to either be a severe disappointment, or not even exist,' Li said cheerfully as she and Hex walked towards their friends, 'what matters is that we had heaps of fun in the process.'

Hex scoffed and shook his head. 'Where have you been for the past few hours?'

The stairs looked even less safe up close. Five faces peered down them, a mixture of worry and excitement reflected in their expressions.

'Who wants to go down first?' Amber said.

'I will!' Li answered before cautiously picking her way down. 'Wow! It get really steep just- Argh!' There was a thump before silence.

Paulo swore and shone his torch down the staircase. 'Li? Are you alright?' he called. When he didn't hear an answer, he started down the stairs. 'Maybe she- _Dios_!' There was another thump followed by silence.

'What the hell?' Hex muttered.

'Paulo?' Alex yelled. 'Li?'

'We have one torch left,' Amber said.

Alex scurried off and came back with two large sticks. He fished a box of matches out of his survival pack strapped to his belt and lit the ends of them.

'Voila,' he announced, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Amber. 'Torches.'

'Who wants to go down next?' Hex looked at Amber and Alex. 'Any volunteers?'

'Chickens,' Amber taunted, but her words didn't sound harsh, more scared.

'Why don't we all go together?' Alex suggested.

'Good idea. Lead on, Mac Duff!' Amber stepped back to allow Alex access to the stair case. 'Knock yourself out.'

Holding his torch high, Alex inched his way down the stairs, Hex and Amber behind him. He heard Hex swear behind him and turned his head slightly to look. Hex had walked into a cobweb and got his shirt snagged on a rock. Amber was sighing loudly and untangling him while Hex swatted angrily at the sticky cobwebs. Alex took a step forward and gave a yell of surprise before disappearing out of sight.

Amber and Hex's heads shot up.

'Where did he go?' Amber whispered, gripping Hex's shoulder tightly.

'I don't know. Probably to the same place that Li and Paulo went.' Hex winced as Amber's nails dug into his skin but he didn't say anything. Cautiously they walked forward. 'He would have been about here.' Hex took another step forward and slipped as the stairs smoothed out beneath him. Amber, still gripping his shoulder, dropped her torch in shock and slid after him.

They landed with a thump on a pile of dead leaves.

Li grinned at them. 'How nice of you to drop in,' she said, trying to sound like Dracula.

Paulo chuckled. 'It took you two long enough.'

Amber was fuming. She glared at him, then Li and finally Alex. 'We were freaked out of our freaking minds, you morons. Do you have any idea how weird it is to suddenly have someone just disappear? You could have had the decency to yell out that you were all ok.'

'We did. You couldn't hear us.' Li lost her smile as she saw how worried Amber looked. 'Sorry.'

Hex had finished checking that his palmtop was ok after the twenty metre drop. He stood up and sighed. 'Any one found yet another exit?'

'Yep. Over there.' Li pointed at a low gap in the rock. 'We haven't gone through; we wanted to wait for you two first.'

Amber had calmed down and happily wandered over to the gap. 'Will it ever end?' she asked, but her tone was amused. Bending slightly, she stuck her head through the gap. 'It's lighter in here; I can see rather well. Must be a gap or something over-' She froze, her eyes fixed on the animal that had just emerged from a rock 30 centimetres from her.

'Amber?' Alex called. 'What's wrong?'

'Li?' Amber's voice trembled. 'What sort of snake is this?'


	14. Chapter 14

**The last chapter! Quite long but I wasn't going to do what I've done for the past **_**three **_**chapters and split it in two. I am now working on A Haunting Truth which should have another 2 to 4 chapters and possibly an epilogue. Enjoy!**

Li slowly moved towards Amber, keeping her movements as deliberate as possible. 'What ever you do,' she said quietly, 'don't move.'

Amber nodded. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

Li got around beside Amber and looked at the snake coiled up on the ground. 'Red belly black.'

'Poisonous?' Amber wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

'Yep. Aggressive as well.' Li saw Amber stiffen and she tried to keep the worry out of her voice. 'Don't worry. I don't think it realises we're here. Just back away really slowly.'

Amber started to move her foot backwards but the movement made the snake swivel its head towards her. Its forked tongue flicked out and it rose up into a strike position, head and the front part of its body raised, swaying slightly from side to side.

'Stop moving,' Li hissed.

Amber quickly halted her foot and looked at Li from the corner of her eye. 'What now?'

'Alex? Can you get it with your knife?' Li didn't move her head as she spoke, careful not to provoke the snake any more.

'No. I'd have to get closer and you'd have to move. It'll strike before I can get in position.' Alex chewed his lip. 'Sorry.'

'It's ok,' Amber answered in a small voice. 'Can I wait it out?'

'Depends.' Li looked at the aggravated reptile. 'It might go away if we stay still.'

The snake continued to sway for what seemed like hours but was, in reality, just a few minutes. Finally it lowered its body back on the ground and slid away, satisfied that the strange creatures in front of it were neither food nor a threat.

Amber let out a shaky breath and stood upright. 'From now on,' she said, 'watch where you walk.'

Li pushed past Amber and moved into the other cave. 'More stairs!' she called. There were four groans as her friends joined her. 'They look more...complete.' Li was still full of her usual enthusiasm and clattered down the staircase without hesitation. The others followed more hesitantly.

'Holly cow,' Amber murmured as they reached the end of the stairs and saw what lay before them. 'That's pretty impressive.'

They were standing in the centre of a two metre wide ledge that ran for about 10 metres either side of them. The cliff fell down sharply, meeting a rushing river that seemed more black than blue. A rickety wooden bridge crossed the 25 metre chasm and ended on a smaller ledge. In the middle of this smaller ledge sat a wooden chest.

'The river Styx,' Hex said gloomily, a twinkle in his eyes. 'Separates the living-' he crept up behind Amber and grabbed her shoulders, making her jump, 'from the dead.'

'Don't do that you weirdo.' Amber scowled.

'What do we do now?' Alex asked.

Li, who had been exploring along the right hand side of the ledge, grinned and called over her shoulder, 'More stairs!'

Paulo joined her. 'It levels out down the bottom here...' He squinted, trying to see what lay at the end of the level bits of rock. 'I can't see any gaps in the rock. It's a solid wall.'

'Impossible.' Alex stood next to Paulo and pointed at the river. 'There has to be at least _some_ sort of gap for the water to get through.' His search for an exit was interrupted by a squawk from Amber.

'What the hell are you doing?' Amber had her hands planted on her hips and was staring at Hex.

'That chest. It might have something in it to help us get out.' Hex took a second step so he was standing with both feet on the bridge.

'Do you need your eyes tested?' Amber sounded both annoyed and worried. 'That bridge wouldn't hold a chipmunk, let alone you.'

'It's fine,' Hex replied. He was now about five metres across. The bridge creaked and swung alarmingly. Looking over his shoulder, Hex could see that Paulo, Li and Alex had joined Amber. All four of his friends were standing with looks of horror on their faces.

'That's because you're not in the centre yet,' Li said. 'Once you get there...'

'It's fine,' Hex repeated. Ten metres of termite infested planks separated him from his friends now.

'You idiot!' Amber cried. 'You're gonna get yourself killed.'

Hex had reached the centre of the bridge. He put his foot down and the entire plank cracked, dropping into the water swirling below him. Stumbling, Hex crashed into the rope hand rails, hoping they'd hold. Another plank of wood dropped from the bridge, leaving a gap that he would have to jump across. 'I can do this,' Hex muttered before throwing himself across the gap. As he landed, Hex winced, expecting the entire bridge to crumble under the impact. But it didn't.

Opening his eyes, Hex saw that the second ledge, the chest, lay just eight metres in front of him. Throwing away all caution, he took the last planks at a run, touching the rock with a sense of relief. A grin on his face, Hex spun around and waved cheerfully at the rest of Alpha Force. Alex looked deathly pale, Li and Amber's eyes were the size of saucers and Paulo was wringing his hands nervously. 'I'm ok!' he yelled, waving again. 'I'll just have a look at this chest and be straight back.'

The chest was as rotten as the bridge and fell to pieces with one kick. Amidst the dust and rubble, Hex spotted a glint. He pounced on it and held it in his hands.

'What is it?' Li yelled.

'Another key.' Hex stood up and put the key in his belt pouch, alongside his palmtop. 'I'm coming back.'

On the other side of the river, Amber, Alex, Li and Paulo watched with their hearts in their mouths as Hex slowly made his way towards them. He reached the centre of the bridge, where he had knocked out the two planks, before diaster struck. The bridge groaned and creaked before staring to crack.

'Move, Hex!' Amber screamed as the entire structure began to fall.

His eyes huge with fear, Hex bolted towards them, his movement causing the bridge to completely break away from its supports and plummet down into the river below. Hex fell with it, his body looking tiny compared to the rushing water. He hit the water and went under. Amber, Li, Paulo and Alex had run to the stairs as soon as the bridge fell. The stood on the flat rock, level with the river, and scanned the water frantically.

'Where is he?' Alex jogged along the rock, looking for his friend.

'We have to find him,' Li wailed.

Paulo squinted at the water. 'There!' he yelled. His friends looked to where he was pointing and saw Hex clinging desperately to a piece of broken bridge.

Amber gave a sob of relief. 'Thank God. He'll be ok now, right? Just gotta kick over to here?'

'I wish it was that simple, Amber.' Alex bit his lip and pointed to where the river seemed to disappear into solid rock. 'I think there's a gap in that rock. Hex is heading straight for it. He'll be washed through with all the water.'

'What are we going to do?' Paulo said. He looked back at Hex. 'We have a bit of time. He's wedge himself in front of a rock.' They looked at Hex who, just as Paulo had said, was holding onto the side of a rock in the centre of the river, his make shift boogie board washed away with the water.

'There was some rope on the ledge. Maybe we can throw one end to him and pull him in.' Paulo ran back up the stairs and returned quickly with a length of rope.

'Might as well give it a shot,' Alex said, leaving out the part that they all knew. If they didn't try something, Hex would be washed away. Already his grip had weakened and he was sliding further and further away from the safety of the rock.

The rope was thick and heavy but Paulo tied a large knot in the end to add some more weight to the part they were throwing to Hex and also to give him something to hold onto. 'Don't you worry, Hex,' he called. 'We're going to chuck you the end of this rope. Grab hold, don't let go and we'll pull you in.'

Hex nodded and gave him a thumbs up. 'Sure thing. Easy a pie.'

Paulo threw the rope towards Hex and he grabbed hold of it. 'Got it?'

'Yep.' Hex looked reluctantly at the water, the rope and finally at Paulo. 'What was the next bit of the plan again?'

'Ready?' Paulo asked. Alex, Li and Amber grabbed a bit of their end of the rope and nodded. Hex gripped his end tightly and nodded. Paulo sighed. _Please work_, he pleaded silently. 'Pull!'

Hex took a deep breath and pushed away from the rock. Almost instantly he was sucked under water, the rope the only thing keeping him from being propelled down the river. For a moment the rope remained slack and Hex almost gave up and let go. Then it tightened and he was being pulled through the water, towards safety.

Spluttering, Hex pulled himself up onto the rock, dropping his end of the rope.

'Thanks,' he gasped.

Alex helped him to his feet. 'You're all wet.'

'No way.' Hex smiled slightly.

Amber, ignoring the fact that Hex _was_ sopping wet, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. 'You are a complete and utter moron,' she sniffed.

Hex smiled and hugged her back. 'I'm not disagreeing this time.'

As Amber pulled away, she wrinkled her nose. 'Yuck! What's _in_ that water?'

Hex was about to answer when a shocked look came over his face. 'My palmtop!' He unzipped the belt pouch and gingerly pulled out the little computer. He gave a sigh of relief. 'It's ok.' The key that Hex had found in the chest fell to the ground, clinking on the stone.

'What's that?' Li asked, picking it up.

'A key. It was in the chest.' Hex carefully packed his palmtop away, thankful for his waterproof case.

Amber punched his shoulder, an annoyed expression on her face. 'You mean that you almost got killed for this... this key?'

Hex rubbed his shoulder and nodded. 'It might come in handy.'

Amber shook her head. 'I don't believe it. You're an even bigger idiot than I thought. One, one and a half, hours ago you were telling us that our lives are more important than this treasure then you go and almost kill yourself. Hypocrite or what?'

Hex smiled and said, 'But I didn't kill myself, so it doesn't matter.'

'You are so frustrating,' Amber growled.

'And you aren't?'

Their argument would have gone on for quite a while if Alex hadn't intervened. 'We have another problem.'

'What?' Paulo asked nervously.

'I don't think there's any way out apart from through the gap that the water passes through.'

Five heads swivelled towards the rushing river, tracing its path 30 metres downstream to where it vanished into the rocks.

'You're kidding, right?' Li said.

'Nope.' Alex nudged Li with his elbow. 'Come on, Li. You're the adrenaline junkie. This'll be fun.'

'I don't know if "fun" is the right word...'

Alpha Force stood at the end of the level rock, next to the solid rock face. The river hurtled past before them, dragging bits of wood and other debris with it. Now that they were closer, it was easy to see that Alex was right. They could plainly see a gap of about four metres in the rock face. The water dipped and swirled into it at astonishing speed.

Hex gulped. 'Do you know how thick this slab is?'

'Nope.' Alex saw the apprehensive looks mirrored on his friends' faces. 'We have no choice. We can't get back the other way; there's the slippery stairs thing and then a rock fall blocking the cave entrance.' He thought desperately, trying to find something, _anything_, to reassure his friends it would be ok. 'Whoever built the bridge and put the chest with the key in it would have had to come out this way.'

'How do you know that?' Amber was feeling really scared. Out of all of them, she was the best swimmer and most at home in the water but this... She really wasn't looking forward to it.

'Look around you.' Alex stuck his hands out and spun around slowly to demonstrate. 'Where would they go?'

'Maybe they climbed up the stair chute?' Li's answer came as more of a question.

'I don't think they did.' Alex sighed. 'Trust me. I have a feeling it's going to be ok.'

One by one, Paulo, Amber, Hex and Li nodded slowly.

'So,' Hex said as he glanced anxiously at the water, 'what do we do? Throw ourselves in?

'If we go right down to the start of the wall we can slip in and stay above water until just before we reach the gap.'

'Let's do it.' Li led the way, appearing much more confident than she felt.

'Who wants to go first?' Paulo stood next to the slab and grinned. 'Alex?'

'Alright. Since this is my idea, I'll go.' Alex put his hand on the rock and waded in to the river, the chilly water making him wince. The bottom quickly dropped out from under him and he was pushed up against the rock.

'Are you ok?' Li asked.

'Yes. The water pushes you onto the rock but it's starting to sweep me towards the hole.' As the current picked up, Alex prepared to go through the gap. 'See you on the other side!' With a half wave, Alex took a huge breath and let himself get swept off the rock face and through the gap.

Li was already wading in, a determined look on her face. 'I'm going next.' She was a lot bolder in her approach than Alex, reaching the gap quickly before shooting under water and through the gap.

Hex had felt his claustrophobia claw its way back. Thankfully, Paulo had volunteered to go next which gave him some time to sit and try to psych himself out of his fear. By the time Paulo had been swept through the gap, he felt ready. 'I'll go now,' he said to Amber before hugging the rock and striding into the water. As his feet came out from underneath him, Hex panicked. He gripped the rock tightly and closed his eyes, resting his head on the cool rock.

'Hex?' Amber had waded in and was bobbing in the water next to him. 'You alright?'

'Yep. Just need a second.'

'The gap looks pretty big. Do you want me to go through with you?' Amber asked gently.

Hex felt like such a wuss, but he couldn't help remembering their trip to Alaska again. Unlike the tunnel into the second cave, this tunnel was filled with water and made his flashback even worse. 'Thanks,' he said quietly.

'Ok.' Amber gently pushed Hex towards the gap. 'I'll be right behind you.'

Hex stopped where Alex, Li and Paulo had all let go. There was no turning back; Amber was right behind him.

'Ready?' Amber said.

'Nope.' Hex took a big breath and flung himself into the open water, Amber close behind him.

The river snatched at them like a starving animal. The tunnel was wide and deep; smooth rock on all sides. Amber and Hex were tossed about like rag dolls as the river swept them along the tunnel. Before they knew it, the water seemed to get lighter and they were nearing the end of the tunnel. Hex's lungs were burning and as he shot out of the tunnel he kicked frantically to the surface. Gulping in great lungfuls of air, he heard Amber explode out of the water next to him, equally out of breath.

'You ok?' he gasped.

'Fine.'

'Come on slowpokes!' Li yelled across the underground lake. 'We found something you should see.'

Hex and Amber swam across the little lake and climbed out onto the rocky shore.

'Never again!' Amber growled.

'Quit whining,' Li said. 'You still got that key, Hex?'

'Here.' Hex unzipped his palmtop case and started to pull the little key out. 'Oh no!'

Amber leaned over Hex's shoulder. 'Looks like your waterproof case doesn't stand up to that much water.'

'It's ruined!' Hex wailed.

'We can have a funeral for it later,' Li said. 'Get the key and come over here.'

Hex zipped up his palmtop's case sadly and brought the key over to Li. 'Where does it go?'

'Here.' Li knelt down and pointed at a trapdoor set in the stone. 'There's a keyhole.'

Hex crouched down next to Li and pushed the key into the hole. 'It fits,' he grinned.

'Turn it!' Amber was almost bouncing with excitement. 'I'm freezing my bum off.'

The key turned easily in the lock. Alex pulled it open and they all gazed down into the darkness. 'You're turn to go first, Hex.'

Hex switched his torch on and shone it down the trapdoor. 'Well would you look at that...'

'What?' Li craned her neck to try and see down the trapdoor. 'What is it?'

'More stairs!' Hex cackled ad started to climb down them. His voice floated up from the darkness. 'Alex. Can you chuck me your matches?'

'Sure.' Alex got them and dropped them down the hole.

'Ouch! That was my head!' Within a few moments, soft light filtered up through the trapdoor. 'Oh my God. I don't believe it.'

'What?' Li whined. 'Stop teasing.'

'Come and have a look at this.'

They quickly climbed down the stairs and stood with Hex in another cave.

'Wow.' Amber spun around, her mouth half open.

'"Wow" is right,' Hex said. 'Look at all this stuff!'

Spread out before them was a literal treasure trove; antiques, gold, diamonds, jewels, statues... it was all there and in perfect condition apart from a thin layer of dust.

'That little slime ball was right,' Amber said. 'The treasure does exist.'

'And we found it!' Hex let out a whoop and climbed down another flight of stairs until he was level with all the treasure. 'This is so cool. Almost worth all the pain and hassle.'

'Almost,' Alex echoed as he joined Hex.

'There's a rope ladder over there,' Li announced as she, Paulo and Amber came up beside the two boys. 'We can get out.'

After crossing the cluttered cave, Alpha Force climbed up the rope ladder and emerged into the night air.

'Fresh, gorgeous air,' Amber gasped dramatically as she stood up outside.

'You don't realise how good fresh air is until it's gone,' Alex sighed.

Amber had got her mobile out and was now speaking to her uncle. 'You'll _never_ guess what we have just found.'

Li stared about her, at her friends, the small cave that they had emerged from and the surrounding bush. As Amber hung up, announcing that the police were on their way, she stood up and beamed. 'I think I'll stick to fighting injustice and leave treasure hunting to the nutcases.'

'Like Holly,' Alex added.

'Exactly.' Li smiled at her four friends. 'Who needs treasure when you've got friends like you guys?'


End file.
